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CMS to Delete DBT/CAD Edit

Friday, January 30, 2015
At the urging of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and others, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will soon delete the edit for the code pair affecting the procedure-to-procedure edit for screening digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and computer-aided breast cancer detection (CAD).

Daniel Kopans, MD, FSBI, Writes a Critique on the CNBS Study

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

An article and associated commentaries related to the Canadian National Breast Screening Study published in the journal Current Oncology continue to advocate against screening mammography despite the major flaws inherent in the trial. SBI Fellow, Daniel Kopans, MD, addresses the study. 

Adding DBT To Mammography May Yield Millions In US Healthcare Cost Savings

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Aunt Minnie (1/15, Yee) reports that a study conducted by Truven Health Analytics and published online Jan. 12 in the journal ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research suggests that “by reducing recalls and catching breast cancer earlier, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) could yield hundreds of millions of dollars in US healthcare cost savings if it were added to mammography for annual breast cancer screening.” After estimating “the financial impact of using DBT along with digital mammography for annual screening in a hypothetical US managed care plan with one million members,” researchers found that use of DBT “would result in overall savings of $2.4 million per year for the plan.” Extrapolating the results further, the study authors concluded that “DBT could lead to as much as half a billion dollars in annual savings if it were used for the approximately 19 million screening mammograms performed annually in the US.”

Forbes Contributor: USPSTF Does Not Include Any Oncologists, Radiologists

Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Forbes (1/13) contributor Dr. Elaine Schattner writes, “Soon the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) will issue a new draft of recommendations for breast cancer screening in women.” According to Dr. Schattner, “the USPSTF does not include an oncologist, a radiologist, a cancer surgeon, a pathologist or radiation oncologist – specialists who are typically involved in the diagnosis and care of women with breast cancer.” Dr. Schattner writes, “I think that at least one oncologist (or, better, a handful in a panel of 16 for breast cancer screening guidelines) and radiologist would offer insight – if not the last word – on the potential benefits, physical harms and costs of breast cancer screening by old-fashioned, digital or 3-D mammography, sonography, MRI and breast self-examination.” 

The indisputable bottom line: Mammograms save lives

Monday, January 12, 2015
Drs. Alan Engel and  Daniel Kopans wrote this piece to remind readers that  mammograms do indeed save lives.
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