(Monday, 4/6/2020) 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM [Mountain Time (GMT-6)]
Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) systems with Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) now represent over three quarters of the installed mammography systems in the United States. The 2018 ACR Digital Mammography QC Manual is the only manufacturer-agnostic Alternative Standard approved by the FDA for all FFDM and DBT systems. The new ACR manual was designed to be streamlined and relevant for modern mammography practices, but adopting this paradigm is not without challenges. This session will include a short presentation to cover high-level advantages of the new manual, and where opportunities lie for medical physicists in the paradigm shift. The ACR and its mammography physics subcommittee have fielded dozens of inquiries from mammography facilities and their medical physicists adopting or considering the new manual; this session will include discussion of these issues, which are important for all medical physicists practicing in mammography. This session will also include a presentation dedicated to the real-world challenges of adopting the new manual, practical solutions to help deal with those challenges, and how to “be the expert” while leading quality improvement in mammography clinics. The session will conclude with Q&A with all of the presenters.
Learning Objectives:
1. Appreciate high-level advantages of adopting the ACR DM QC Manual
2. Understand how embracing this paradigm shift can improve patient care and elevate the role of the medical physicist
3. Review the key elements of the new ACR DM QC Manual and understand updates to the radiologist, technologist, and medical physicist procedures and requirements
4. Learn important clarifications based on more than a year of fielding questions from medical physicists and technologists
5. Gain an understanding of the challenges of implementing the ACR DM QC Manual
6. Learn practical solutions to the challenges of transitioning to the new manual
7. Learn strategies to be an effective advocate for adopting the new QC manual and facilitating change management within your workplace
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Dustin Gress serves as Senior Advisor for Medical Physics at the American College of Radiology. Eric Berns is one of the authors of the new ACR Digital Mammography QC Manual. Several of the authors (KK, EB, TR) serve as ACR Mammography Accreditation Program Physics Reviewers
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