Mammogram Technician Falsified Over 1000 Reports, Pleads Guilty After Breast Cancer Findings

Can you imagine having your mammogram report overlooked because somebody didn't really care about their job? Well that's what happened to Sharon Holmes, who was found to have aggressive stage 2 breast cancer after he previous test results were cleared.

Ms. Holmes, along with nine other women, later found lumps or cancerous tumors in their breasts after their test results from Perry Hospital in Perry, Georgia, were cleared by one of the mammogram technicians. The culprit was Rachael Rapraeger, who pleaded guilty to ten misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and one felony charge of computer forgery.

"I'm thinking I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, getting my tests done, and then I find out someone else isn't doing their job," said Holmes via this SF Gate news article.

Thankfully, she is now cancer free after her breast, lymph nodes, and thyroid were successfully treated. Rachel Rapraeger was sentenced to serve up to six months in a detention center, 10 years on probation (cannot work in health care), and was forced to pay a $12,500 fine. She falsified over 1,300 reports and putting the lives of at least ten women at risk.

Perry Hospital's lead radiological technologist was unaware that between January 22, 2009 and April 1, 2010 these false reports were being signed off. But why and how did this happen? Ms. Rapraeger told investigators that she was suffering from various personal issues, which caused her to fall behind in processing the mammogram films. So instead of actually getting the work done, she decided to enter the hospital's computer system and give the patients a clear reading on their respective mammogram report without reviewing them.

Rapraeger was caught in April of 2010 after a patient notified Perry Hospital that she had developed breast cancer despite the hospital signing off on her mammogram three months earlier. When the hospital began to investigate, Rapraeger confessed her wrongdoings to her supervisor and was fired.

Incompetency in the workplace is unacceptable, especially within the health care industry where over $200 billion is spent each year for treatments and medicine.