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Medical Physicist: Mammography (Revised 05-22-2024)

Revision History


All medical physicists (including part-time and locum tenens staff) must meet MQSA requirements and must have initial and continuing qualification documentation available at the facility for any on-site visits. In addition, a qualification form for attestation of qualifications is required for initial, renewal and reinstatement applications. This qualification form is attached at the bottom of this article. 


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.


For your convenience, the Medical Physicist Requirements Form is attached below.



Revision History for this Article

Date

Section

Description of Revision(s)

12-12-19

All

Article created; FAQs incorporated; No criteria changes

11-16-22

All

Medical Physicist Requirements Form attached

10-05-23

Attachment

Updated Medical Physicist Qualification Form

01-11-24

First paragraph

Clarification of documentation

3-21-2024

Attachment

Updated Medical Physicist Qualification Form attachment

04-25-2024

Attachment

Updated Medical Physicist Qualification Form attachment


5-22-2024

FDA Policy Guidance Help

Updated link to the FDA's Policy Guidance Help System



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