Mammography in need of trained interpreters: decline in screening facilities.(Women's Health)

WASHINGTON -- Increasing the number of medical personnel who can interpret mammograms is the most immediate way to reduce the number of women who lose their lives to breast cancer, according to a report issued last month by the Institute of Medicine.

The report, written by the IOM's Committee on New Approaches to Early Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, is the result of the committee's review of existing and evolving approaches to the study and treatment of breast cancer.

According to the report, the supply of medical personnel who are trained to interpret mammograms falls short of the demand for services. More than two-thirds of radiologists …