DBT reduces mammo recalls; getting paid for FFDM

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

Clinical investigators researching digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) believe the technology has a number of benefits, the most important of which is its ability to visualize lesions that might be obscured on conventional mammograms.

But another possible benefit of DBT is a reduction in callback rates, according to an article we're featuring this week in our Women's Imaging Digital Community by staff writer Shalmali Pal.

A recent study at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found that DBT reduced callback rates of its breast radiologists significantly -- to find out how much click here. The article also includes a streaming video clip of a DBT study.

In other news in the community, contributing writer Marty Graham examines the thorny issue of reimbursement in the U.S. for full-field digital mammography. FFDM reimbursement levels relative to analog film-screen mammography can vary widely across the country, so she took on the arduous task of determining reimbursement rates on a state-by-state basis -- so you don't have to.

Get that story by clicking here, or visit our Women's Imaging Digital Community at womens.auntminnie.com.