Recertification of LBJ Mammography Unit
set to begin Jan. 3
The accreditation process for the Mammography Unit of the LBJ Medical Center is underway and according to Niuatoa Puletasi, a team of five from the American College of Radiology (ACR) will arrive in the territory on January 3, 2008 to begin the recertification process.
ACR is the certifying agency of diagnostic imaging units across the United States, including American Samoa.
The LBJ’s Mammography Program has been suspended since August 2007 due to deficiencies identified from the image reports submitted to the ACR.
LBJ Hospital’s CEO Patricia Tindall has confirmed this to be true, but added that the suspension is only temporary. “American Samoa needs this service and we will not deter from attaining our goal which is the full accreditation for our Mammo Unit,” Tindall stated through a statement from the hospital.
Niuatoa wrote, “The process is in place to allow LBJ to resume its mammography program under specific conditions. ACR will work with Diagnostic Imaging Manager Toafala Iafeta and the staff through this process to help them deal with improving image quality so that accreditation can be achieved.”
Iafeta said that the main difficulty with American Samoa’s Mammo Program is the physical size of the local clients. “Our people are traditionally taller and heavier than average American women,” Iafeta said. “This size discrepancy causes a positioning problem and can affect image quality.”
According to Niuatoa, the LBJ Hospital was required to submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to ACR for approval and LBJ’s CAP was submitted last October by Dr. DeJournett, LBJ’s director of the mammography program who resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.
.
The CAP includes specific positioning techniques to improve image quality. Thus, LBJ is recognizing the specific genetic makeup of the population of local women and providing a program to deal with the societal issues.
Niuatoa explained that the local Mammography Program will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and federally compliant.
“Training for the mammo staff is also a requirement and plans to provide on-site training by an outside x-ray expert authorized by ACR and FDA is in the plan for January 2008,” Niuatoa said.
Upon successful completion of the on-site survey and follow-up corrective action, LBJ will be allowed to reinstate the program by initiating an application for accreditation and submitting the appropriate fees to ACR.
A full application will be sent to LBJ with appropriate testing materials to be completed and returned to ACR.
Niuatoa said that “When the entire process is completed, ACR will reinstate LBJ’s Mammo Unit. Full accreditation is expected by early February 2008.”
According to Niuatoa, the group traveling to the territory will include two radiologists, two physicists, and two mammography technologists accompanied by Dr. Richard Dejournett.
While here, the team will review LBJ’s progress and provide on-site training in areas where LBJ mammography staff need help.
|
