Did you know that it is a requirement for OBSP Breast Assessment Sites to be accredited by the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR)? Mammography Accreditation is part of CAR’s Mammography Accreditation Program (MAP). This designation ensures healthcare facilities meet the highest standards of breast image quality and patient safety.
MAP involves a rigorous process to meet compliance in four key areas1: image quality, radiologist reporting, equipment function, and radiation safety. Sonia Bryson, Senior Mammography Technologist, explains, “We have a month to collect high-quality images.” These are analyzed for quality, and the process takes about two weeks before results are shared.
CMH'’s Mammography team comprises of four radiologists that report breast imaging and four Medical Imaging Technologists with specialized trained in Mammography.
The MAP designation is a testament to CMH’s commitment to maintaining high quality standards and patient safety. MAP is so critical to operations that it is done whenever new Mammography equipment is introduced into the program. This ensures the equipment is thoroughly tested and that personnel are trained to use it to the highest safety and clinical standards.
While this accreditation is routine for over 500 Canadian hospitals providing this crucial service, it follows on the heels of the recent growth and innovation in CMH’s Breast Health services. Most notably:
- Becoming the third designated OBSP2 Breast Assessment Site in Waterloo Wellington (April 2023)
- Being the first regional hospital to introduce Magseed technology to precisely locate and mark lesions within the breast
- Introducing MagTrace in March 2024 to aid in sentinel lymph node biopsies within the operating room.
- Having a pathology department that routinely meets or exceeds test results and staging wait times
- Having robust Breast Cancer Surgery and Breast Reconstruction programs, the latter of which continues to innovate and introduce new options to the region.
Many thanks to the Mammography team and those that support it for their commitment to providing safe, reliable patient care to the community.
- The four quality areas of the Car Mammography Accreditation Program are:
- Personnel requirements: determines that the right people are conducting quality examinations, rendering quality diagnostic images
- Quality control: assesses that the appropriate tests are completed through a quality assurance program and monitored quality control for the presentation of optimal quality medical images
- Equipment specifications: ensures the right equipment is being used and operating as intended
- Breast image quality: ensures a systematic image assessment by a qualified radiologist is implemented in a facility that regularly evaluates the quality of its images and association of radiation doses.
- Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP)