AuntMinnie.com Women's Imaging Radiology Insider

Dear Women's Imaging Insider,

Breast imaging specialists have a lot on their plates, including rigorous quality standards, high costs versus low reimbursement, and a lack of interested (let alone qualified) staff. But there's one thing they don't have to worry about -- the risk of other women's health specialists helping themselves to a slice of the imaging pie.

"Since screening mammography is a money-loser, no one is breaking down the doors to do mammography," said Dr. Carl D'Orsi, a long-time breast imaging specialist. "This was true even before (the Mammography Quality Standards Act)."

And it's likely to remain true, even as a shrinking mammography community must contend with a growing demand for services. D'Orsi and colleagues conducted a national survey to assess precisely what the current state of mammography services is in the U.S. Click here to read more.

Also in our Insider Exclusive, you'll find the results of an in-house study that looked at recall and breast biopsy rates. The researchers at this particular East Coast institution found an increase in biopsy rates, but not a corresponding increase in cancer detection.

In an interesting aside, nonrads may not be hungry to take on breast screening, but image-guided biopsies, which are reimbursed at higher rates, definitely whet their appetites, according to D'Orsi.

In other mammography news, we have an article on how breast cancer screening in older women, or the lack thereof, may mean missing out on relevant disease trends. Speaking of missed information, another study tested the accuracy of computer-aided detection (CAD) segmentation in screening mammograms.

Finally, breast sonographers can rest assured that the American College of Radiology's BI-RADS lexicon offers useful descriptors for separating benign and malignant lesions.