The ACR's Mammography Accreditation Program: ten years of experience since MQSA

The ACR's Mammography Accreditation Program has been helping facilities improve the quality of mammography through peer review and professional feedback since 1987. Initially conceived as a voluntary program, accreditation became mandatory when the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) of 1992 required all U.S. mammography facilities to become accredited and certified by October 1, 1994. Currently, the ACR is the largest of four accrediting bodies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accrediting 12,729 units at 8325 facilities by October 1, 2004. Between 1987 and 1991, 70% of the mammography units applying for accreditation with the ACR passed on their first attempts. In 2003, 88.3% of the units passed on their first attempts, indicating a marked improvement in the quality of mammography in the United States since MQSA went into effect 10 years ago.