A retrospective study of the performance of radiographers in interpreting screening mammograms

PurposeThis paper provides data on the continued success of radiographers in reviewing mammograms with similar accuracy to screen readers.MethodThe participants consisted of 7 radiographers and 2 current official screen readers. Two hundred and fifty sets of mammograms from 2003 were used in this study. Each participant reviewed each set of mammograms as a Rescreen or Recall. Patient outcomes were assessed by following up the results of any histology or pathology tests in 2003 or the 2005/2006 screening results.ResultsThe screen reader’s sensitivities ranged from 79% to 93% and the specificities ranged from 82% to 84%. The radiographer values ranged from 57% to 97% and 63% to 80% respectively.ConclusionThe sensitivity and specificity values attained by some radiographers were equivalent to those of both the screen readers. Accuracy rates of the radiographers suggest that screen reading by selected and appropriately trained radiographers should be achievable in Australia.