Thank you for all the great questions during the webinar! Here are the responses from the Atirix team.
Please note that we grouped similar questions together, like “what about smaller facilities”, “how does the
system work”, or “what’s the price”.
Yes, QC-Track is used all the time to pass MQSA inspections at facilities around the US. Since 2009, QC-Track has
been proven in thousands of inspections, including FDA/MQSA, state, ACR, and TJC.
Please don’t rule out QC-Track for smaller facilities. Yes, QC-Track provides all the tools needed to manage QC across very large sites like UVA, or
Pat’s fleet of 60+ mammo units across 32 sites (and growing!) at Northside. But the fact is QC-Track is also used at a large number of smaller sites with just one or two units.
As we discussed in the Q&A session, in smaller facilities the QC Technologist may be working multiple modalities. In those sites, the QC-Track system can help make
MQSA testing much easier because the QC Dashboard will display the tests that are currently due for the time period, making it easy to stay on top of things and
eliminating missed tests. Of course, all tests that are configured for an imaging unit can be viewed and completed at any time, whether they are currently due or not.
This ability to guide the QC Technologist on the testing needed for MQSA keeps even new techs compliant and “between the guard rails”.
Yes, many hospitals and imaging centers around the US are using the QC-Track system, including facilities in at least 8 of the top 10 healthcare systems,
major academic health systems (like UVA Health), community hospital systems (like Northside Hospital), outpatient networks, mobile Mammo networks,
Critical Access Hospitals, and the VA system. Atirix clients can have 30 or more hospitals on QC-Track.
Your first time hearing of QC-Track? Shame on us! We’ll blame Covid. You should be hearing more about QC-Track since we’re participating again in more and more
conferences and webinars. Watch for us at regional and national meetings like AHRA and AAPM.
Yes, QC-Track has been used for many years at a large healthcare system in Ontario.
Please contact Atirix at sales@atirix.com to discuss.
Yes, there are a lot of facilities using QC-Track in that area, including Allen’s large installation at University of Virginia Health System, with more coming soon.
Thank you for your interest in QC-Track pricing!
During the webinar Pat shared that she considered the cost to be relatively inexpensive, especially for the value that Mammo departments of any size get from the product.
QC-Track® pricing information is available from Atirix. QC-Track subscriptions are primarily based on the number of tracked items, like imaging units or the number of
clinical professionals being tracked for credentials. Please contact Atirix sales (sales@atirix.com) for more information.
QC-Track® is a software product for paperless QC and is from Atirix. QC-Track has modules for each diagnostic modality.
Atirix is not aware of any similar paperless products for MQSA/digital QC. The QC-Track Mammography module includes all the QC worksheets,
paperless workflows, and reports needed for a complete paperless QC system for MQSA device QC and FDA EQUIP tracking. QC-Track requires very
little IT involvement, and your IT is not to needed to “create a process”, the Atirix team does that for you based on configuration forms that you fill out for them.
There are a couple ways that QC data from the Reading Workstation can be recorded in QC-Track.
At most QC-Track sites, the QC tech will do the workstation QC and complete a QC-Track worksheet. There is also an automated interface
for Displays QC that can pull QC data from a Display vendor’s systems and record the data as worksheets in QC-Track, which makes it easy to
identify missed tests and failures, especially in very large fleets of displays.
Regardless, once the data is in QC-Track, reports can be generated out of QC-Track for the inspectors. For MQSA purposes, QC-Track will have a record of the test being
completed, whether it passed or failed, and, if it failed, what follow up was performed.
Please contact us at sales@atirix.com to discuss QC-Track in the VA system.
There are several safeguards built into QC-Track to ensure that only appropriate parties can change QC data that has been recorded.
For example, QC-Track provides extensive control over User roles and permissioning. Permissions can be narrow or broad within the product, and can be managed over time.
In addition, all data entry in the system is User and Date stamped and recorded in Audit Logs.
If a User has permission to Modify, any Modifications to data on a recorded worksheet are indicated by date and time stamping, and visual indicators like strike-outs on the worksheet.
For EQUIP purposes you can generate reports from QC-Track and email them to your LIP for QC/QA review.
The record of their review can then be uploaded into QC-Track and included as part of your Inspection documentation.
Yes, you can choose who should have access QC-Track and can set them up as a user.
All data that is recorded in QC-Track can be viewed, modified if necessary, and reported on at any time.
The QC-Track workflow is designed so that conditions like missed QC or failed QC will be identified, and emails reminders and alerts can be generated prior
to problems occurring.
You can even set up a reminder that can be generated and sent prior to QC going overdue if the test was not completed on the usual day.
Important situations like missed tests and failed tests are displayed on the QC Dashboard until resolved. Missed tests and failed tests are no longer silent.
At most facilities the QC is entered in QC-Track as QC is being completed in the room. Even if the technologist needs to leave the room to get to a
computer the time is shortened since QC-Track does the Reporting for the technologist. Pat discussed this in the webinar.
For the ACR/TJC modalities like CT, MRI, PET/Nuc Med, the QC-Track system offers Automated Phantom QC as an optional capability.
Yes, QC-Track can be used for any mammo vendor QC and for the ACR program.
For mammography we have the vendor QC programs for all the FDA cleared mammo systems that are being used in the US.
If a new system becomes available, it is easy for Atirix to add the new QC program into QC-Track since all of the worksheet templates, workflows, and reports
are built using editors that are built into QC-Track.
Yes, the QC-Track EQUIP workflow includes logging and tracking Question 1. Corrective Actions (and Question 2. Image Quality Review) in the Credentials module,
as well as an LIP Sign-off Desktop for Question 3, to make reviewing and signing off as easy as possible for the LIP.
Yes, we have a module for Device Events and Document Tracking for Physicist Surveys, Preventative Maintenance and Service Calls, this includes the documents
that are needed for inspection.
Yes, there are a couple steps needed to do this in QC-Track. First, a complete Credential Report needs to be generated for the technologist as they are
leaving their old facility. The report should be given to the technologist. When they arrive at their new facility the report can be used to set up
their new credential tracking, and can also be attached to the user record in QC-Track.
Watch for an automated Credential Export/Import feature in a future release. Atirix is seeing more and more situations where technologists
are moving from QC-Track site to QC-Track site (and in some cases insisting they will only work at QC-Track sites!).
It depends on the inspector. In many facilities the inspectors do soft inspections from a workstation screen. Of course, some inspectors still require printed reports.
And Pat said she emails her PDF inspection packages to the inspectors prior to them coming on-site, which she said they really like and it helps minimize their on-site time.
In either case the reports needed for the inspection can generated in QC-Track as a PDF. The Inspection is done with these reports, whether from a screen or printed paper.
The FDA and vendors like Hologic specifically allow electronic QC tracking but some inspectors can still insist on paper. If your inspector is on of those,
you can generate your QC-Track reports as PDFs. These can be printed or viewed softcopy. And maybe while your inspector is looking at the paper you can show
them the advantages of viewing the QC-Track reports in the product and tell them Allen is encouraging them to ‘save a tree’.
The ACR accepts QC-Track reports for Accreditation and Re-Accreditation. All Reports in QC-Track can be generated as a PDF.
This was also discussed during the Q&A session. A couple responses were offered.
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All Reports in QC-Track can be generated as a PDF. We do recommend to our clients that they generate the reports several days before the inspection –
which Pat said she does, and emails to her inspectors prior to the inspection.
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If your computer network is down on the day of the inspection, this would be a very difficult day for the institution. Per Allen and Pat, MQSA Inspectors
understand emergencies and the need to reschedule.
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Allen pointed out that any paper-based QC (3 ring Binders) is also quite vulnerable to damage, esp. floods from plumbing failures.
One of the participants also added (in the chat) that generally you have 5 days to provide documents that are not available at inspection.
As was discussed during the Q&A session after the Webinar – both Pat and Rania (of Atirix) said it is better to do QC before the holiday rather than
waiting as you can’t foresee if there could be issues later in the week.
No, a paperless QC system like QC-Track is not required per the ‘letter of the law”, but it is extremely helpful in tracking and managing your
MQSA device QC, credential, and FDA EQUIP data.
QC-Track helps keep your facility “Always Inspection Ready™”
Yes, QC needs to be performed, and for in-home workstations it would need to be something that your radiologist does.
That’s part of the challenge of in-home reading – just because the workstation is not in the facility it does not relieve the facility
of its responsibilities for QC, so you will need to work out how to do the monitor QC that is needed for compliance.
Allen pointed out that a paperless QC system makes it much easier to track the status of in-home monitor QC. He also said a paperless QC system makes
it much easier to have the monitor QC records available at the point of inspection.
No, within QC-Track you are free to do either manufacturer or ACR QC.
In Mammography/MQSA, most of our clients are doing manufacturer’s QC. We do have some clients using the ACR Digital Mammography program, and expect to see more.
ALLEN R. GOODE, MS, DABR
Chief Diagnostic Medical Physicist
Co-Chair, Clinical Radiation Safety Committee
Department of Radiology & Medical Imaging
UVA Health
allen.goode@virginia.edu
As was discussed during the Q&A session after the Webinar – Allen said no, not likely to come from the ACR, and no, not likely to come from “MQSA” either, since
MQSA is really a statute, not an organization.
Allen went on to say that the reality is that QC can be really complex and involve a lot of devices and manufacturers, especially as you get outside of mammography,
so not really a good candidate for a “universal” system.
We believe that Pat said “no” to this question.