Demographic characteristics of physicists who evaluate mammographic units.

Purpose: To determine whether there will be an adequate number of physicists to meet the 1996 American College of Radiology (ACR) Mammography Accreditation Program requirements and assess the qualifications of physicists available to evaluate mammography units as required by the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992.

Materials And Methods: A 21-question survey prepared by the ACR was sent to most medical physicists who perform evaluations of mammographic units. Replies were received from 1,011 individuals.

Results: Survey results are based on the replies of 824 individuals who indicated a willingness to perform evaluations in the future. In 1996, there will be approximately 510 certified physicists to evaluate an estimated 14,000 mammography units in the United States.

Conclusion: A sufficient number of certified diagnostic medical physicists will be available to provide required annual performance evaluations of all mammography units in the United States only if the number of units evaluated per physicist increases substantially over current levels.