On November 21, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee unanimously approved a bill (S. 1879) to reauthorize for two years the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA). First enacted in 1992, the MQSA sought to correct wide variations in the quality of mammography screening around the country. The law established uniform equipment, personnel, and quality standards; required mammography facilities to employ qualified physicians to interpret mammogram results; and created a quality assurance and control program. The committee heard testimony on the Act’s reauthorization on April 8 (see The Source, 4/11/03).
Sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the measure would allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a temporary renewal certificate to a mammography facility seeking reaccreditation. The Secretary also would be permitted to issue a provisional certificate to a facility allowing it to conduct examinations for educational purposes while an accrediting agency is on the premises.
In a press release issued by her office after the mark-up, Sen. Mikulski stated, “Before the Mammography Quality Standards Act became law over ten years ago, there was a patchwork of standards for mammography in this country. Radiation levels used on patients varied widely, equipment was shoddy, and physicians often didn’t have proper training. I went to work in Congress to set national standards, helping to make mammograms a more safe and reliable tool for detecting breast cancer. This extension of MQSA will make sure women continue to have access to quality mammograms while we continue to look for ways to strengthen national standards.”
