The Tribune

DOCTORS Hospital has hit back at an article printed in The Tribune on Monday, January 23, claiming the Bahamas lacks state-of-the-art breast cancer diagnostic tools. The Doctors Hospital imaging department, which conducts close to 4,000 mammograms a year, says it has on site all of the latest diagnostic equipment. The Hologic Selenia full-field digital mammography system was installed at Doctors Hospital two years ago and is the very latest technology on the market. "This is the current state-of-the-art digital mammography machine and Hologic is the industry leader," explained Doctors Hospital Chief Radiologist Dr Larry Carroll. Doctors Hospital digital imaging department also has the ability to offer patients a breast MRI, something many facilities in the United States are not yet offering. The MRI is not generally used for screening purposes because of the costs involved in having the procedure done, but Dr Carroll says it becomes an extremely useful option and is the current standard of care in cases where there is either a high risk because of a woman's family history or initial screening shows a questionable lesion which requires additional scrutiny. In addition to the Hologic Selenia Digital Mammography system and the MRI, Doctors Hospital has the only 3-D automated breast ultrasound machine in the country. This diagnostic tool enables radiologists and physicians to take a CT-scan like ultrasound image of the breast, peeling away half a millimeter of breast tissue at a time, picking up abnormalities the size of a match head. "What we have is the 26th unit of its kind installed in this hemisphere. This machine is only now being rolled out as the new standard of care worldwide," explained Dr Carroll. In addition to having the latest technology, Doctors Hospital has a highly trained team of radiologists and technologists and adheres to the highest international standards and US Mammography Quality Standards Act as well as the American College of Radiology guidelines. In 2010, Doctors Hospital became and remains the only acute care hospital in the region to gain Joint Commission International accreditation, and Dr Carroll explained that in order to maintain this accreditation, his team must follow a set quality control protocol that includes calibrating and checking every machine including computer monitors to ensure they get the most accurate reading on every mammogram that is conducted. "There is nothing within the local law that requires any facility here to conduct the level of testing that we at Doctors Hospital are required to do," he explained, "having the machine is not enough to guarantee the best quality mammograms. One of the areas of weakness in mammography in The Bahamas is the lack of quality standard regulations and enforcement, but Doctors Hospital sets the pace in terms of following global best practices." Doctors Hospital remains committed to investing in the best equipment and staff in order to provide the Bahamian community with the very best in healthcare.