National Survey of Canadian Mammographic Facilities

A national survey comprising approximately 60% of all Canadian mammographic facilities was conducted in 1994-95. The survey, which was coordinated by Health Canada, was a cooperative undertaking of the federal and all provincial and territorial governments in Canada. The survey protocol, which was developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), was used for U.S. national surveys in 1985, 1988 and 1992 and is similar to U.S. accreditation requirements of the Mammography Quality Standards Act and the Canadian accreditation requirements of the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR). The use of a standardized protocol and intercalibration of survey equipment will permit direct comparisons of the findings with other North American survey data to be made. This report describes the protocol and presents the material findings. This document was prepared by G.R. Symonds, P.Eng., of the X-Ray Section, Consumer and Clinical Radiation Hazards Division, Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada. Acknowledgements Without the enthusiastic and committed cooperation and assistance of the provincial and territorial radiation protection agencies in scheduling and carrying out the surveys, this work would not have been possible: Al Samms (Newfoundland), Pat Wall (Nova Scotia), Dan Kennedy (Prince Edward Island), Keith Davies (New Brunswick), Richard Tremblay (Québec), Michael Gefter (Ontario), Harry Johnson (Manitoba), Wayne Tiefenbach (Saskatchewan), Ken Prochnau and Jackie Robinson (Alberta), Francine Anselmo (British Columbia), J. McKinnon (Northwest Territories) and Rob McLure (Yukon). The Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD, USA provided invaluable assistance in defining the survey protocol, calibrating survey equipment and providing advice. The contributions of Dr. Orhan Suleiman and Rodney Fuller (Radiation Programs Branch) and Tom Heaton and Elizabeth Rogers (Radiation Metrology Branch) were particularly appreciated. Data analyses were ably assisted by Dr. Fred Rueter of Derwood, MD, USA (phantom image scoring and advice on NEXT) and Steve Harper of the Radiation Protection Bureau (shipping, receiving, data verification and entry).