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Revisions in the risk‐based breast cancer screening program at group health cooperative
Author(s) -
Taplin Stephen H.,
Thompson Robert S.,
Schnitzer Fernne,
Anderman Carolyn,
Immanuel Virginia
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19900815)66:4<812::aid-cncr2820660436>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - medicine , mammography , breast cancer , context (archaeology) , mammography screening , family medicine , screening mammography , breast cancer screening , health care , gynecology , cancer , gerontology , demography , paleontology , sociology , economics , biology , economic growth
To pursue the goal of achieving regular use of mammography in women 40 years of age and older, a risk‐based selective approach to screening was implemented at a 400,000‐member managed health care system in the Northwest in 1985. This article describes the context for this approach to selective screening and reviews revisions in the algorithm used to determine when and how a woman should be screened. Changes made in 1988 with respect to age criteria, intervals for mammography, and which risk factors to include are discussed. The result of these changes is that 83% of women 40 years of age and older are now eligible for regular mammography compared with 57% under the former system. The total use of mammography in any given year remains unchanged. The results of this analysis have implications for other organizations attempting to promote the use of mammography.