MAMMOGRAPHY CERTIFICATION STANDARDS.

(a) To receive a mammography certification under this subchapter, the mammography system must, at a minimum:

(1) meet criteria at least as stringent as the American College of Radiology mammography accreditation program;

(2) be specifically designed and used for the performance of mammography;

(3) be operated by an individual certified as a medical radiologic technologist under Chapter 601, Occupations Code, who meets, at a minimum, the requirements for personnel who perform mammography established by the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. Section 263b); and

(4) be used in a facility that:

(A) meets, at minimum, the requirements for certification of the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. Section 263b);

(B) has a licensed medical physicist specialized in radiology under Chapter 602, Occupations Code, who at least annually provides on-site consultation to the facility, including a complete evaluation of the entire mammography system to ensure compliance with this subchapter;

(C) maintains records of the consultations required under Paragraph (B) for not less than seven years after the date the consultation was performed;

(D) establishes a quality control program that meets requirements that are at least as stringent as those of the American College of Radiology mammography accreditation program; and

(E) maintains and makes available to a patient of the facility original mammograms performed at the facility until the earlier of either:

(i) the fifth anniversary of the mammography or, if an additional mammogram of the same patient is not performed by the facility, the 10th anniversary of the mammography; or

(ii) at the request of the patient, the date the patient's medical records are forwarded to another medical institution.

(b) To protect the public health, the executive commissioner by rule may adopt more stringent or additional requirements for:

(1) the certification of mammography systems; and

(2) the retention of original mammograms.

(c) To protect the public health, the executive commissioner by rule shall adopt qualifications for a physician who reads, evaluates, and interprets a mammogram that are no less stringent than the standards of the American College of Radiology.

(d) The department shall make available to the public copies of the criteria of the American College of Radiology mammography accreditation program or the modified criteria provided by department rule.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the standards imposed for certification under this chapter may not be less stringent than the standards imposed on a facility under the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. Section 263b).