GAO SAYS MAMMOGRAM FACILITY CLOSURES OUTPACING OPENINGS

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a study published in July that closures of mammography facilities are outpacing openings of new facilities.

Between Oct. 1, 2002, and Oct. 1, 2004, 1,290 facilities closed and 752 began providing services, resulting in a net loss of 6 percent, the GAO said.

"Mammography facility officials most often cited financial considerations as the reason their facility closed," the office said. Another factor could be the difficulty facilities have recruiting and retaining radiologic technologists and physicians to interpret mammograms, the GAO noted.

The GAO report can be accessed at www.gao.gov/new.items/d06724.pdf (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06724.pdf).