Health Imaging & IT - January 2008 - (Page 36)

caSe STuDy By Leslie K. Anderson Sweden: A Study in Mammography excellence Breast cancer screening in Sweden is a national effort paying great dividends. Studies, most notably by Laszlo Tabar, MD, have substantiated the benefits of regular mammograms—a 40 to 50 percent decrease in breast cancer deaths nationwide. Now, further benefits are expected from the widespread use of the latest digital mammography technology. Some 80 to 90 percent of Swedish women have bi-annual mammograms and today 40 percent of those are done on digital systems. As Sweden’s system of choice, digital mammography is helping assure continued success with diagnosis, workflow and patient care. Since Sweden instituted the world’s first national breast cancer screening program in 1986 following Tabar’s well-known 1985 study, women have embraced mammography more so than any other country. It’s been a team effort—women, government, physicians and healthcare facilities—like-minded folks working toward efficient screening. “Everyone is very ambitious to take good mammography images because we know how important it is to find small breast cancers,” says Eva Edholm, a radiologic technologist at Capio Saint Göran Hospital in Stockholm. The National Board of Health and Welfare recommends screening every 18 months for Swedish women ages 40 to 55 and every 24 months for women ages 55 to 74, although some counties use the 24-month recommendation for all age groups. “An invitation is sent to remind them,” says Edholm. And so begins the workflow. Capio Saint Göran Hospital is one of 100 national health mammography sites, each day screening 200 women and treating 30 to 40 clinical cases, except during the summer when they take eight weeks off from screening. In August, they went fully digital, installing four Sectra MicroDose mammography systems at the hospital, providing them with the lowest radiation dose units on the market. Two systems also were installed at its sister site, Capio Diagnostic Mammography Center in Tumba, Stockholm. “We switched in one day,” says Edholm. “It was so easy.” The installation of digital mammography furthers workflow efficiency at the Stockholm hospital. For the techs, the big differences are the user-friendly workstation and lack of film developing. “It’s easy to work with the key pad and mouse,” says Edholm. Only 20 minutes of training was required to learn to use the workstation. Information is entered and available immediately during the procedure. “You can see what you can do; it’s right here.” Developing film is something Edholm and her 14 fellow rad techs don’t miss either. She says the rooms no longer smell like HealthImaging.com 36 Health Imaging & IT | January 2008 http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

Health Imaging & IT Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise: Is More Better? News Update A Look Inside Next-Generation Multidetector CT Convention Spotlight: RSNA in Review RIS/PACS in the Imaging Center Sweden: A Study in Mammography Excellence The Votes are in: Yea for Speech in U.S. Capital & Beyond Subspecialty Reading Services: Quality Reads, Peace of Mind, 24/7 Enterprise Lung CAD Eases Workflow Advertisers Index Company Index Coming Soon Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

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