Garner, N.C. — When women begin annual breast cancer screening, they quickly add a new chapter to their medical history. 

If problems are found, the chain reaction of decisions and procedures can be hard to keep track of.

To help ease the complicated process of tracking medical records and history, Viztek, a medical software company based near Garner, developed a program which brings images, results and scheduling protocol all into one system. 

Called Mammoview, the software couples past and present breast images with a voice recognition tool that every physician involved with the patient's care has access to. More importantly, all of the information is available to the patient. 

"The gap in patient care comes because there are so many people involved in each step," Viztek's Steve Deaton said. "You have the technologist, the radiologist, the referring physician and then you have some other supportive staff that need to follow up to schedule biopsies."

The program also makes continuing care easier for people who have recurring problems or want second opinions. A new doctor can log onto the patient portal and download a copy of the report for the radiologist. 

While Viztek's system isn't in widespread use in the Triangle, it is is more than 7,000 practices around the country.