WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Physician assistants should be trained to read mammograms to help offset a shortage of radiologists and keep up with demand, a new study says.
Physician assistants shouldn't be solely responsible for interpreting the mammograms but should prescreen or double-read mammograms, the National Academies study said. That was seen as a way to provide a more thorough examination than found at most mammography facilities and expand their capacities, the Wall Street Journal said.
The idea drew immediate flak from the group representing radiologists as not being a way to solve the problem and one that could hurt patient care.
The 18-month study examined ways to reduce breast-cancer deaths, which claim about 40,000 women a year in the United States.
The report said the number of mammography facilities in the United States dropped to 8,600 from 9,400 between 2000 and 2003 and while the number of radiologists is growing by about 2 percent a year, the workload is increasing by 6 percent.
