Digital mammography program receives three-year accreditation
The Mammography Program at St. Joseph's Hospital in Breese was awarded a three-year accreditation in digital mammography following a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The survey was requested after the hospital installed a new GE Healthcare Senographe Essential Digital Mammography System this spring.
“We could have sought a one-year interim accreditation but decided to have a complete review,” said Jene Bieri, hospital director of Professional Services. The program received a three-year accreditation in 2007 and has been continuously accredited by the ACR since beginning in 1992.
“The hospital and Mammography Program are committed to excellent care for our patients,” Bieri said. “Continuous ACR accreditation is another confirmation by a professional peer review certification process.”
During a survey, hospital staff and equipment is assessed by board-certified physicians and medical physicists from the ACR. The ACR's Committee on Accreditation then provides a report to the facility.
Hospital personnel are pleased with the accreditation and even more so with being able to offer the most up-to-date mammography service possible.
“The digital equipment offers new and powerful technology for the detection and fight against breast cancer,” Bieri said. The $500,000 cost was underwritten by the hospital Friends using proceeds from the annual mailing, golf tournament and other fundraising activities.
“This new system allows us to offer our patients state-of-the-art mammograms and provide referring physicians with clear, precise, all-digital and extremely accurate images to use in diagnosis,” Bieri said. Quicker exams, greater patient comfort and easy wheelchair access are other benefits.
The Senographe Essential has been fully integrated with a Sectra Diagnostic Workstation which allows radiologists to review patient images quickly and easily and provides the capability to pull up previous mammography or other imaging scans for comparison.
Radiologists reading the images utilize a “Second Look” Computer Aided Detection unit. Studies have shown that using CAD on a screening mammogram can result in over 23 percent more cancers detected.
Also, the new system is linked with the hospital's Picture Archiving and Communication System or PACS, which integrates the hospital's imaging procedures to be read and stored digitally or electronically and reviewed online by the referring physician over a secure internet connection.
Mammograms are offered in a dedicated mammography suite by staff who are registered radiologic technologists with special training in mammography. Staff members have an average of 12 years of experience; approximately 3,300 patients a year use the service.
Digital mammography is available Monday through Saturday; a physician's order is required. For an appointment (requested), call 526-5396. For more information, contact a physician or Medical Imaging at 618.526-5458.
