No doubt part of the reason for the growing interest in digital mammography is the recently released results of the Digital Mammographic Screening Trial (DMIST), the four-year research study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. Findings showed that accuracy of digital mammography was significantly higher than that of screen-film amongst women under age 50 and women with heterogeneously dense or extremely dense breasts on mammography and premenopausal or perimenopausal women.

Even with these results, deciding whether or not to transition to digital mammography requires the evaluation of many factors. Many key variables will influence your decision, including:

• The volume of cases performed
• The purchase price of the mammography system
• The procedure types performed at your facility (screening vs. diagnostic)
• The payer mix i.e.: Medicare, BC/BS, HMO etc.
• Reimbursement rates for your area
• CAD integration

Digital imaging systems require a considerable investment, but offer a higher reimbursement rate per mammogram. Medicare reimbursement for a digital screening examination is approximately $50 higher than that of a film based mammogram. The national Medicare global payment amount for a digital screening mammogram is approximately $135. Assuming you perform 20 digital screenings per day, 240 days per year, the reimbursement will be approximately $648,000 in annual revenue.

Computer Aided Detection (CAD), an invaluable tool, automatically identifies and highlights the characteristics commonly associated with breast cancer and reimbursement averages $20 per study. Performing the same 20 digital screenings per day, 240 days per year would yield approximately $96,000 in annual incremental revenue.

The facts and figures I present to you here have not taken into account variable items such as material, personnel and facilities costs. We can estimate the break-even point at seven digital screening mammograms per day using digital CAD.

Another key factor to consider is the future of mammography. Many in the medical community feel that the future lies in the digital platform. New procedures such as contrast mammography and breast tomosynthesis are in clinical trials and show promise of finding breast cancer earlier. To learn more about emerging technologies click here.

It may be helpful for you to visit our website and read customer testimonials about transitioning to and incorporating digital imaging.
Click here to learn more.