Revision History


All medical physicists conducting mammography equipment evaluations and annual surveys must meet the following MQSA-required qualifications:


Initial Qualifications

Master's Degree or Higher

Bachelor's Degree (Must be qualified before 4/28/99)

All of these:

  • Master’s degree or higher in a physical science

  • 20 semester hours of physics

  • 20 contact hours of training in conducting surveys of mammography facilities

  • Experience in conducting surveys of 10 units and 1 facility

All of these:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a physical science

  • Qualified under the Interim Regulations

  • 10 semester hours of physics

  • 40 contact hours of training in conducting surveys of mammography facilities

  • Experience in conducting surveys of 20 units and 1 facility

In addition to the above, the medical physicist must:

  • Be certified in Diagnostic Radiological Physics, Diagnostic Medical Physics, Imaging Physics, OR Radiological Physics by the American Board of Radiology OR the American Board of Medical Physics.

OR

  • Be licensed or approved by a state

 

In addition, the medical physicist must document 8 hours of training in a mammographic modality (e.g., digital) before surveying units of that modality

Continuing Experience Requirement

Survey 2 mammography facilities and 6 mammography units over a 24-month period. The FDA allows medical physicists to count surveys of the same facility and the same mammography unit more than once per year provided that the facility surveys are at least 10 months apart and the unit surveys are at least 60 days apart. See FDA’s Policy Guidance Help System for specific guidance on this topic. For example, you may meet the FDA requirement for continuing experience by surveying your unit 3 times a year (once every 4 months). You will then have 6 surveys in 2 years and meet the requirements. Keep in mind that each year at least 1 of the surveys must be a full facility survey (i.e., it must include an evaluation of the technologist’s QC).

Continuing Education Requirement

15 CME/CEUs in mammography in a 36-month period


Additional information regarding appropriate units for and documentation of CME is available here.



Revision History for this Article

Date

Section

Description of Revision(s)

12-12-19

All

Article created; FAQs incorporated; No criteria changes



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