A study published March 18 in Annals of Family Medicine that detailed long-term psychosocial harms of false-positive screening mammograms is compromised by methodological irregularities, underplays the harm of a breast cancer diagnosis and does not address existing strategies used to minimize anxiety, according to statements by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and breast imaging experts.

Amerinet, a St. Louis-based organization that collaborates with providers to improve performance, has signed a three-year agreement to offer Carestream’s CR and DR digital imaging systems to its 60,000-plus members nationwide.

Women who experience a false-positive screening mammogram incur long-term psychosocial harms, researchers reported March 18 in Annals of Family Medicine. Three years after a false-positive result, women recounted psychosocial consequences at a range between those with normal results and women with a breast cancer diagnosis. 

Women aged 50 to 74 years who undergo biennial screening mammography face a similar risk of advanced disease and lower risk of false-positive results than those who undergo annual exams, according to a study published online March 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Although the findings apply to women with dense breasts or on hormone therapy, the data are more muddled for women aged 40 to 49 with extremely dense breasts. 

MRI spine imaging, perhaps the poster child for overuse, has the dubious distinction of a top five spot on the internal medicine and family medicine lists of most commonly overused tests. Research published March 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine adds fuel to the fire. MRI performed at one-year follow-up in patients treated for sciatica is not linked with improved outcomes, according to the study. An accompanying editorial dubbed follow-up spine imaging for sciatica a “red herring.”

The term data-driven decision making has become ubiquitous. Ubiquitous it may be, but the adjectives essential and mission-critical also spring to mind.

Physicians responding to a poll regarding when and if to initiate screening mammography were fairly evenly divided about beginning screening at age 40 or 50, with a significant fraction not recommending the exam, according to a clinical decisions feature published Feb. 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has updated evidence-based guidelines to help healthcare providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam or radiation therapy for a patient’s clinical condition via the latest version of its Appropriateness Criteria.