June 5, 2018
Breast Cancer Screening & Preventive Services Association
Women Medicare beneficiaries who underwent screening mammography have a positive association with later use of other recommended preventative services, according to a new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute® study appearing online in Radiology.
“There were two overarching ideas to this study,” said Stella Kang, M.D., M.Sc., from NYU School of Medicine. “First, we wanted to examine the potential for a patient’s experience with one screening to influence use of other preventive services. Second, we wanted to see how the potential harms from false-positive findings might influence preventive service use.”
Dr. Kang and her colleagues used U.S. Medicare claims from 2010 to 2014 to retrospectively identify a group of 185,625 women who underwent screening mammography and a control group without screening mammography. Data analysis was used to examine the relationship between positive and negative screening status and the probabilities of undergoing additional preventative services which include Papanicolaou (Pap smear) test, bone mass measurement, or influenza vaccination in the following 2 years.
“Women in our study who underwent screening mammography showed increased use of cervical cancer and osteoporosis screening tests as well as the influenza vaccine,” said Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Neiman Institute senior director for health policy research and senior research fellow. “This association may also be relevant to policy-level decisions regarding coverage for breast cancer screening as a key part of a bundle of recommended preventative tests.”
To obtain a copy of the study or to arrange an interview with a Neiman Institute spokesperson, contact Nichole Gay at (703) 648-1665 or ngay@neimanhpi.org.
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About the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy InstituteThe Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute® is one of the nation’s leading medical imaging socioeconomic research organizations. The Neiman Institute studies the role and value of radiology and radiologists in evolving health care delivery and payment systems and the impact of medical imaging on the cost, quality, safety and efficiency of health care.Visit us at www.neimanhpi.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.