A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found four characteristics of mammography facilities to be associated with higher overall levels of accuracy in screening and reports. The study showed that higher interpretative accuracy is seen with facilities offering only screening mammography, which have breast imaging specialists to interpret mammograms, which undertake single readings (as opposed to double) and undertake independent audits at least twice yearly. With more than 27 million women undergoing screening mammography world wide each year, there is growing concern to improve technique performance. The two main factors known to influence interpretation of mammograms are the characteristics of the women being screened (factors like breast density, age and the time since their last mammogram) and the experience of the interpreting radiologist (i.e. years on the job and reading volumes). However, studies have suggested that these characteristics account for only 10 percent of variations in performance.

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