Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 5L of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 27, 34, 50, 53 and 58, the word "commission" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following word:- department.

SECTION 2. The first paragraph of section 5N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the fifth sentence and inserting in place thereof the following three sentences:- The department shall promulgate rules and regulations that will ensure optimum exposure ranges for safe and effective diagnostic radiographic examinations. Such rules and regulations shall be no less stringent than the most current standards and guidelines developed by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, the American College of Radiology, the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors and other pertinent national and international organizations. Such rules and regulations shall not limit the intentional exposure of patients to radiation for the purpose of lawful therapy or research conducted by licensed health professionals.

SECTION 3. Said section 5N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 46 and 47, the words "five N to five P" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- five N to five Q.

SECTION 4. Section 5 O of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, 7, 12 and 13, 39 and 40 and 47, the words "five N to five P" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- five N to five Q.

SECTION 5. Said section 5 O of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 22, the words "section five N or section five P" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- section five N, five P or five Q.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 111 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 5P the following section:-

Section 5Q. (a) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for the licensing of mammography facilities. Said rules and regulations shall establish mandatory requirements for facilities that offer diagnostic mammography services within the commonwealth, and shall be no less stringent than the most current standards of the American College of Radiology. Such rules and regulations shall require that a physician be designated by the facility to be responsible for the overall quality assurance of said facility. Such rules and regulations shall also include, but not be limited to, the following provisions: optimum exposure ranges; equipment standards and requirements; mandated quality assurance programs; phantom image quality requirements; operator training and experience requirements; annual evaluation and calibration of the mammography unit by a qualified radiation physicist; registration of the mammography facility and specific inspection procedures by department inspectors; reporting and recordkeeping requirements, as well as others so determined to be appropriate. The department may accept, in lieu of the above, certification by the American College of Radiology or other recognized organization as deemed status for licensing; provided, however, that the standards of said organization shall be no less stringent than the most current standards of the American College of Radiology. For purposes of this section, a mammography facility shall be defined as any facility, whether stationary or mobile, that offers diagnostic mammography services to any person in the commonwealth, including but not limited to, any facility owned or operated by any health care provider as defined in section one, a health maintenance organization licensed pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-six G or any other entity that offers such services as defined by rules and regulations of the department.

(b) All mammograms shall be read and interpreted by a physician practicing in accordance with the requirements of section five L of chapter one hundred and twelve.

(c) The radiologic technologist performing the mammography procedure shall be responsible for ensuring that the resulting radiographs meet the technical and diagnostic requirements of the physician reading the mammogram.

(d) The department may establish a separate registration fee for diagnostic radiographic machines used for mammography under section five N; provided, however, that registration fees established pursuant to this section shall be sufficient in the aggregate to support the net state cost, subject to appropriation, for meeting the purposes of this section, after consideration of any amounts available from the federal government for said purposes.

(e) The department shall require the use of radiographic systems specifically designed for, and exclusively used for, mammography.

(f) The department may issue temporary licenses as an interim measure until all requirements for full licensure are met, and may revoke said license if the facility is found to be in noncompliance with the department's rules and regulations.

(g) The department shall establish appropriate procedures for application and licensing for facilities seeking a license to operate as a mammography facility.

(h) The department shall inspect mammography facilities annually, and shall notify the board of registration in medicine of any physician practicing in violation of the requirements of section five L of chapter one hundred and twelve regarding the reading and interpretation of mammography.

(i) The department shall issue a certificate of inspection after each inspection, which the facility shall post near the mammography unit in full public view.

(j) The department may suspend or revoke a license to conduct mammography should a facility not meet any of the requirements set forth in this section.

SECTION 7. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 5K the following section:-

Section 5L. The board shall by regulation establish qualifications, standards and criteria no less stringent than the most current standards of the American College of Radiology, which shall apply to all physicians who read and interpret mammography.

SECTION 8. The regulations required by section five L of chapter one hundred and twelve of the General Laws, inserted by section seven of this act shall be promulgated no later than six months after the effective date of this act.