Implementation of a clinical quality control program in a mammography screening service of Brazil

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the effect of a clinical quality control program on the final quality of a mammography screening service.

Materials and methods: We conducted retrospective assessment of the clinical quality of 5,000 mammograms taken in a Mammography Screening Program between November 2010 and September 2011, following the implementation of a Clinical Quality Control Program based on the European Guidelines.

Results: Among the 105,000 evaluated quality items, there were 8,588 failures (8.2%) - 1.7 failures per examination. Altogether, 89% of the failures were associated with positioning. The recall rate due to a technical error reached a maximum of 0.5% in the early phase of the observation period and subsequently stabilized (0.09%).

Conclusion: The ongoing education and monitoring combined with personalized training increased the critical thinking of the involved professionals, reducing the technical failures and unnecessary exposure of patients to radiation, with substantial improvement in the final quality of mammography.

Keywords: Breast cancer; in-service training; mammography; mobile units; quality control; screening programs.