Originally published on JS PACS, August 7, 2009.
As we progress through our digital mammography implementation, new questions are being raised every day. We are often provided answers by the vendor; however, I feel some vendors are quick to provide answers that steer us toward the path of least resistance for them.
The specific instance this time is the question of what to do with mammography CAD data. What is the standard of care in the mammography world regarding the use of CAD in digital mammography?
As we begin implementing a digital mammography department, we are faced with the decision of how to handle CAD markings on digital images. We are being told that nobody stores CAD markings, because of the liability: if CAD identifies a spot on an image, the spot is not worked up by the radiologist, and it proves to be positive, the radiologist can be held liable.
Now, I am of the school of thought that if you make mention of a spot identified by CAD and the CAD overlay is not stored, we can also be held liable, since we cannot reproduce the image that identified the area of interest.
We have had this discussion with the risk management group in our organization, and it was stated that we have to identify the standard of care by evaluating what others who have been using such CAD systems are doing.
So I am interested in hearing how everybody is handling CAD overlays in their digital mammography environment.