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Editor's e-Note
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For this month’s newsletter, we asked some experts how mammography findings and breast density information can be better used to engage women in their health care. Read on for details.

How does your facility communicate mammography findings and breast density information? Let us know on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Enjoy the newsletter.

— Dave Yeager, editor
e-News Exclusive
Engaging Women With Enhanced Mammography Letters

Participants:
  • Bruce F. Schroeder, MD, of Carolina Breast Imaging Specialists in Greenville, North Carolina
  • Leslie Ferris Yerger, CEO and founder of My Density Matters
  • Corrine Ellsworth-Beaumont, MFA, PhD, CEO of Know Your Lemons Foundation
  • Gail Zeamer, founder of Wisconsin Breast Density Initiative
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Radiology Today presents a discourse featuring a distinguished panel of breast imaging professionals. Topics touched upon during the virtual consultation include engaging women in their breast health care and new ways to communicate mammography and breast density results.

First off, what is a mammography patient letter?
Schroeder: In the US, following her mammogram, a woman will receive a letter with the results of the exam, informing the woman whether the results were normal or if there were any findings, benign or suspicious, that require additional surveillance or testing. Today, most letters will also include a breast density measurement. This letter, written in lay language, is distinct from the official report that is sent to her physicians.

How does the Density Inform movement impact patient letters?
Ellsworth-Beaumont: While laws have been passed to let women know they have dense breasts, the wording in the mammogram report letter is often counterproductive by dismissing it as common. Patient letters provide little or no information about the patient’s risk factors. In addition, most women never see their own mammography images, even though images may help women visualize their breast density and understand why additional imaging may be needed. Patients need personalized correspondence that helps them understand their results and clearly communicates what supplemental screening is recommended for women with their specific risk profile.

Full story »
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Worth Repeating
“I live half a mile from a hospital. That’s right, half a mile. The ambulance insisted they take me to the hospital, so they did. I had great insurance with the state since I was adopted, and this happened a few months before my 18th birthday, so the state was supposed to cover it. My ambulance bill came out to be $10,000 for half a mile. They weren’t even working on me during the ride. Then, they filed the bill after my 18th birthday, so my insurance denied it. Four years later, my mom finally got the state to pay it.”

jazmineb49d289c21, quoted on BuzzFeed, in a compilation of anecdotes consumers have shared about medical billing
 
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