Population Screening Act: mammography in two directions as standard

The Netherlands holds five screening organisations charged with population screening for breast cancer. They are requesting permission to make two rather than one images per breast in different directions as standard, from now on, during the biannual follow-up screening. In the context of the Dutch Population Screening Act (WBO), such a change in policy requires a licence from the Minister for Public Health, Welfare and Sport. On 7 January 2013, the Minister requested the Health Council of the Netherlands to provide advice about the licence application. To this end, the Council’s Committee on Population Screening assessed the proposed modification to the screening against the requirements the WBO imposes on population screening subject to licence, namely scientific validity, compliance with legal regulations and standards for medical conduct, and a favourable balance between benefits and risks for the people to be screened.