According to ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), immediately reading screening mammograms during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic promises a new and improved paradigm—reducing care disparities, while increasing the speed of diagnostic workup.

Flow Chart of Patient Selection


September 9, 2021 — According to ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), immediately reading screening mammograms during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic promises a new and improved paradigm—reducing care disparities, while increasing the speed of diagnostic workup.

“The immediate-read screening mammography program reduced prior racial and ethnic disparities in same-day diagnostic imaging after abnormal screening mammograms,” wrote first author Brian N. Dontchos, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

In May 2020, Dontchos et al. implemented a program wherein a dedicated breast imaging radiologist interpreted all screening mammograms in real-time, with patients receiving their results before being discharged. A separate radiologist made efforts to perform any recommended diagnostic imaging during the same visit. The team then retrospectively identified screening mammograms performed from June 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019 (pre-implementation; 8,222 examinations) or June 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020 (post-implementation; 7,235 examinations). 521 and 359 patients had abnormal screening examinations, respectively.

Before implementing this immediate-read screening mammography program, patients with races other than White had lower odds than White patients of having same-day diagnostic imaging after abnormal screening examinations (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.10, 0.86; p=.03). After implementation, these odds were not significantly different (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.50, 1.71; p=.80).

Responding to the Society of Breast Imaging’s recommendation to reduce patient hospital visits during COVID-19, “we believe the practice is sustainable and not limited to only a transient period of lower-than-normal screening volumes,” the authors of this AJR article noted.

For more information: arrs.org

 

Related COVID-19 Cancer-care Information:

Female Breast Cancer Surpasses Lung as the Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancer Worldwide

Johns Hopkins Medicine Expert Weighs Devastating Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers

Radiation Oncologists Urge Congress to Advance Bills That Protect Patient Access to Cancer Care During Pandemic

Breast Imaging in the Age of Coronavirus


Related Content

News | PET Imaging

May 30, 2025 — GE HealthCare recently announced that the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) ...

Time May 30, 2025
arrow
News | Imaging Software Development

May 27, 2025 — DeepLook Medical, a company advancing medical imaging through visual enhancement technology, recently ...

Time May 28, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

May 13, 2025 — In one of the larger studies of its kind, researchers have identified six breast texture patterns that ...

Time May 16, 2025
arrow
News | Mammography

April 29, 2025 — iCAD, a global provider of clinically proven AI-powered cancer detection solutions, has announced a ...

Time April 29, 2025
arrow
News | Mammography

April 24, 2025 — GE HealthCare will feature its latest advancements in diagnostic accuracy and patient-centered breast ...

Time April 24, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

March 20, 2025 — GE HealthCare has launched Invenia Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) Premium, the latest 3D ultrasound ...

Time March 21, 2025
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

March 10, 2025 — Lunit, a provider of AI-powered solutions for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, has published a ...

Time March 10, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

March 04, 2025 — Optellum has entered a strategic agreement with Volpara Health, a Lunit company and a provider of ...

Time March 04, 2025
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

Feb. 19, 2025 — SimonMed Imaging and HeartLung Technologies have signed a strategic partnership to offer HeartLung's AI ...

Time March 04, 2025
arrow
News | Ultrasound Imaging

Jan. 28, 2025 — GE HealthCare recently announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug ...

Time January 29, 2025
arrow
Subscribe Now