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Can radiographers read screening mammograms?
G Wivell1, E R E Denton, C B Eve
1Breast Imaging Department, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, U.K.
Aim:
To evaluate the ability of radiographers to read screening mammograms in the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP).
Materials And Methods:
Two radiographers read a test set of 1000 screening mammograms previously reported by a consultant radiologist. Three radiographers then acted as a second reader for 54,000 screening mammograms, their recall results are presented. Four consultant radiologists and three film reading radiographers were timed while reading 2500 mammograms each.
Results:
When reading the test mammograms the two radiographers recalled all the cancers previously detected by the radiologist at the original screen read. They also recalled 32/90 women who subsequently presented with interval cancers. As a second reader the radiographers had similar recall and cancer detection rates to the radiologists (P>0.05). Double reading detected 9% more cancers. The radiographers take the same length of time to film read as radiologists (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Radiographers are able to read screening mammograms at least as well as radiologists and do not take longer to do so.