Site Visits

Versione italiana - Site Visit

In Tuscany the performance of screening programmes is monitored through an annual  survey aiming at collecting screening indicators and several regional meetings. Both of these strategies can offer a valuable insight into the activity of the screening units.

Some years ago CRRPO started to carry out regular Site Visits (SVs) as complementary tool for monitoring screening programmes performance. SVs strategy is based on the experience of mammography screening programmes in the UK and the Netherlands as well as on the results of the EUREF project developed within the European Network for Breast Cancer (EBCN), funded by the European Commission.

In Tuscany the SVs have become an integral part of the procedures for the qualification of screening programmes developed by the Tuscany Cancer Institute (ITT) and implemented by the Tuscany Government as a formal act in the Resolution no. 1342 of 20/12/2004. 

The aim is, through a meeting with the various professionals involved in the screening programme, to verify that the clinical procedures adopted comply with national and regional recommendations and to help programmes in achieving and maintaining high quality standards.

The added value of this strategy is based on the possibility of using this "audit" tool in order to obtain a more comprehensive evaluation of the screening programmes. In fact SVs provide the only forum for a review of the whole screening process on a multidisciplinary basis, and an assessment of the effectiveness of team working within the screening unit.

The feasibility of SV strategy as a quality assurance tool has been evaluated in a national project of the Ministry of Health - CCM that took place in the years 2010-2011.