October 21, 2022 – St. John’s, NL: Three regional health authorities (Eastern Health, Labrador-Grenfell Health and Western Health) advised today that the review of mammography images read on 3-megapixel monitors instead of 5-megapixel monitors is now completed and follow-up with patients who required further assessment is ongoing.
Of 10,883 patients who had their mammogram images reviewed, 10,845 patients have been reviewed with no change. Of the 38 patients who require further assessment, 20 of these patients have had their follow up complete with no change to their reports. The other 18 patients are in various stages of follow-up which includes the following steps:
- contacted patients’ primary health-care providers;
- contacted patients by phone;
- contacted patients with a follow-up letter outlining next steps.
The regional health authorities continue to follow up on those with either expired MCP or invalid addresses.
On August 23, 2022, the three regional health authorities initiated a review and are continuing to take all the required steps to gather information including conducting a multi-RHA internal quality review, which will be completed in a timely and thorough manner and the RHAs will continue to provide updates as needed.
The review pertains to how the mammography images were viewed and not the quality of the images themselves, or the way the exam was conducted. There were no defective monitors used. To clarify, 5-megapixel monitors are the standard for the review of mammography images, while 3-megapixel monitors are the standard for all other types of images, such as X-rays and CT scans.
The regional health authorities apologize to all affected patients for any concern this review has caused. Patients who may have questions can call the toll-free number at 1-833-960-4574 between 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.
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