Eastern, Western, Labrador-Grenfell Health find 6 mammogram patients needing followup
Heather Gillis | CBC News | Posted: September 15, 2022 8:19 PM | Last Updated: September 15, 2022
The 3 health authorities say they've reviewed 20 per cent tests viewed on lower resolution monitors
Three of the province's health authorities say they have reviewed about 20 per cent of the 10,883 mammograms originally viewed on deficient workstations, and six patients require further followup.
The health authorities — Eastern Health, Western Health and Labrador-Grenfell Health — say they will call patients whose breast cancer screening tests show possible discrepancies, contact their doctors, and send patients a letter following up with next steps.
A press release issued late Thursday afternoon said Eastern Health needs to review 3,665 mammogram tests in total and as of Wednesday had examined 592 files, which do not require any change to the exam report.
Labrador-Grenfell health has 2,092 files to review, and said 376 of them require no change to the test interpretation.
Western Health has the largest volume of patient files to review at 5,126, and so far has sifted through just under 1,400 records in which the results do not need to be changed.
The authorities also said about 860 fewer patients are affected than originally anticipated, so their tests won't have to be reviewed.
The regional health authorities say they have sent letters to patients involved in the review, notifying them about the process. They say patients whose files have been reviewed and do not require changes to the test interpretation will also receive letters by the end of October.
"The number of patients requiring followup remains low suggesting this occurrence is a low risk to patients," says the press release.
In late August, Central Health notified the public about the testing review. The health authority said for more than three years it had read mammograms on screens with three megapixels of resolution, compared with the Canadian standard five megapixels.
Early last week Central Health said it had reviewed 2,564 patient images so far and found nine possible errors.
More than a decade ago the Cameron inquiry found 400 breast cancer patients had been given incorrect hormone receptor test results and failed patients with poor laboratory work and quality control.