Diagnostic performance of radiographers can be improved

BMJ 1995;310:1003 (15 April)

Letters

Diagnostic performance of radiographers can be improved

EDITOR,--A move to a two year screening interval would helpreduce the rate of interval cancers noted in the NHS breastscreening programme. S Field and colleagues argue, however,that this is prohibited, at least in part, by the limited numbersof trained radiologists able to interpret the additional mammogramsthat would be necessary.¹

One possible means of overcoming this shortage would be to employradiographers who have received additional training in interpretingscreening mammograms. This has previously been suggested asa way of developing the radiographers' role.² I have shown inanother area--fracture radiographs in the accident department--thatthe diagnostic performance of radiographers can be improvedprovided they receive supplementary training.³ It has long beenstandard practice for cytological screening to be routinelyundertaken by skilled medical laboratory scientific officerswith rigorous quality assurance checks by pathologists. Similarmodels could, perhaps, be introduced into breast screening unitsemploying skilled . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

What should be done about interval breast cancers?: S Field, M J Michell, M G W Wallis, and A R M Wilson
BMJ 1995 310: 203-204. [Extract] [Full Text]