It’s too soon to tell when Allen County Regional Hospital will again be permitted to offer mammography services. The hospital lost its accreditation in late May.
All patients who underwent mammograms between March 28, 2015, and May 19 of this year were notified in late June ACRH failed to meet “clinical image quality standards” established by the American College of Radiology, as required by the Food and Drug Administration.
As such, the FDA ordered the hospital to stop performing mammography on May 23, and notify all patients about the issue.
Each patient was sent a certified letter and asked to contact their respective health care provider to have their mammogram reviewed to determine if another examination at a separate facility was warranted. If so, ACRH will pay for the subsequent examination.
“Allen County Regional Medical Center has stopped providing mammography services while we implement a comprehensive plan to improve these services,” ACRH chief executive officer Tony Thompson told the Register in an email. “We are notifying patients who have received scans at our hospital. For patients who had a mammogram during the review period, we are working diligently to have these re-read or re-done, if necessary, at no cost to patients.
“It’s important to note that this change in accreditation is limited to mammography services,” Thompson continued. “The hospital remains accredited by the Joint Commission, and we’re working closely with the American College of Radiology to improve our mammography services.
“Once we’ve completed our corrective plan, we will take the necessary steps to reinstate mammography accreditation.”
