Breast imaging, standard of care, and the expert

Many radiologists have the opportunity to serve as experts in determining whether a colleague's actions are within standard of care. This is an important responsibility because, in large part, the fairness and success of the judicial system determining whether medical negligence has occurred is dependent on the opinion of the medical expert. Especially in the field of breast imaging, the physician acting as an expert often has to base opinions on judgments rather than incontestable facts. To make judgments of the highest quality, the expert must possess a clear understanding of the concept of standard of care. This article focuses on the role of experts in malpractice cases dealing with mammography and the delay of diagnosis of breast cancer.