Fitzgibbon Hospital Earns ACR Accreditation

August 23, 2019

Women who receive mammography services at Fitzgibbon Hospital can be confident they are receiving the highest level of image quality and safety in their examinations, as the hospital recently was awarded accreditation for an additional three years by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Mammography is a specific type of imaging test that uses a low-dose X-ray system to examine breast tissue. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases, including breast cancer, in women and some men. Fitzgibbon has offered state-of-the-art mammograms via 3D technology since 2015.

The ACR accreditation is considered the “gold standard” in accreditation. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, qualifications of the facility staff, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are all assessed as part of the accreditation process.

The findings are then reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice or facility with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.

The ACR, founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care. The ACR serves more than 37,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of quality, comprehensive health care services.