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Mammography Screening Is Saving Thousands of Lives, but Will It Survive Medical Malpractice?

Mammography Screening Is Saving Thousands of Lives, but Will It Survive Medical Malpractice? Next Section Good News/Bad News Although mammographic screening is far from perfect, the benefits that were shown objectively in RCTs have now been demonstrated for populations outside of trials. Unfortunately, just as the benefits of mammographic screening have produced a major decrease in deaths from these cancers, I believe we are headed for a screening crisis. The number of radiologists who are willing to interpret mammographic images appears to be decreasing. There has been a marked decrease in the number of radiologists who are applying for breast imaging fellowships. In a recent survey ( 12 ), it was found that the major reason why radiologists were not going into the field was that they were not interested. However, the second most important reason was the stress involved in interpreting mammograms and the fear of being sued. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of lawsuits in the United States for “failure to diagnose” breast cancer ( 13 ). Radiologists are well aware that this has become one of the leading causes of medical malpractice claims. Many radiologists are asking themselves why they should expose themselves to the increased risk of a lawsuit. One of the reasons http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Radiology Radiological Society of North America, Inc.

Mammography Screening Is Saving Thousands of Lives, but Will It Survive Medical Malpractice?

Radiology , Volume 230 (1): 20 – Jan 1, 2004

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References (16)

Publisher
Radiological Society of North America, Inc.
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by Radiological Society of North America
ISSN
1527-1315
eISSN
0033-8419
DOI
10.1148/radiol.2301030619
pmid
14695383
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Next Section Good News/Bad News Although mammographic screening is far from perfect, the benefits that were shown objectively in RCTs have now been demonstrated for populations outside of trials. Unfortunately, just as the benefits of mammographic screening have produced a major decrease in deaths from these cancers, I believe we are headed for a screening crisis. The number of radiologists who are willing to interpret mammographic images appears to be decreasing. There has been a marked decrease in the number of radiologists who are applying for breast imaging fellowships. In a recent survey ( 12 ), it was found that the major reason why radiologists were not going into the field was that they were not interested. However, the second most important reason was the stress involved in interpreting mammograms and the fear of being sued. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of lawsuits in the United States for “failure to diagnose” breast cancer ( 13 ). Radiologists are well aware that this has become one of the leading causes of medical malpractice claims. Many radiologists are asking themselves why they should expose themselves to the increased risk of a lawsuit. One of the reasons

Journal

RadiologyRadiological Society of North America, Inc.

Published: Jan 1, 2004

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