Nebraska breast density bill signed into law

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed Legislative Bill 195 into law today making it the 32nd state to enact mandatory breast density reporting.

The bill states that all health care facilities that perform mammography shall include in the summary of the mammography report to be provided to a patient information that identifies the patient’s individual breast tissue classification based on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System established by the American College of Radiology. In the case that the patient is determined to have heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue, the report should also include an additional notice.

According to the Associated Press, Ricketts signed the law surrounded by family members of a woman who died from breast cancer, despite receiving normal mammograms for several years.

Nebraska has become the fourth state in the 2017 legislative session to sign the breast density law, joining Iowa, Colorado and Kentucky. 

Jodelle joined TriMed Media Group in 2016 as a senior writer, focusing on content for Radiology Business and Health Imaging. After receiving her master's from DePaul University, she worked as a news reporter and communications specialist.

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.