Word: breasting
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...dismal economics were not enough to scare off would-be radiologists, "failure to diagnose breast cancer" has become the profession's No. 1 malpractice expense. Mammograms, by their very nature, miss 10% to 15% of all breast cancers. That means that even the best radiologists won't spot one cancer for every nine they detect. (Adopting more advanced techniques like magnetic resonance imaging doesn't solve the problem. MRI scans are far more expensive than mammograms, take three times as long and are much more labor intensive...
Some answers may be forthcoming in the next few weeks. The American Cancer Society and the Society of Breast Imaging are busy analyzing data from a recently completed survey of radiologists and their waiting times. Harkin also hopes to hold hearings on the issue...
...cost and reimbursement has only grown wider. Today the Medicare rate for a mammogram stands at about $69, yet the cost incurred by the imaging centers can run anywhere from $100 to $150. "We're basically operating a charity," says Dr. Mark Dennis, a radiologist at the Sally Jobe Breast Center in Englewood, Colo., whose six clinics performed more than 50,000 mammograms last year and reportedly lost $120,000, most of it on mammograms. "We can afford to keep our doors open only because our mammography sites perform other types of services as well...
...mammogram that was previously marked clean. But that's hardly a fair test, say most practitioners. "You can't expect people to go into a field knowing they could be pulled into court for 10% of the cancer patients that they see," says Dr. David Dershaw, director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City. Indeed, the number of applicants for Sloan-Kettering's five training positions in breast radiology fell from an average of 40 a few years ago to 12 last year...
...meantime, don't be discouraged by the long waits from scheduling your own mammogram. Avoid calling in October, since that is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and many women, responding to the publicity, call for exams at that time. Remember, persistence often pays off. After a week of telephone entreaties, Paula Sperling spent the day camped out at N.Y.U.'s mammography center. Eventually an office manager took pity on her and squeezed her into a slot five weeks later. Says Sperling: "I'm already talking to them about an appointment for next year...