Breast cancer screening rates drop in 2021

Many patients deferred breast cancer screening in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A study recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that breast cancer screening rates aren’t catching up to rates prior to the pandemic.

This is primarily due to two factors:

• Many screening sites were closed for a time during the pandemic.
• Many patients chose to defer preventive care during the pandemic.

“We continue to see breast cancer screening rates lagging this year,” said Martha Walsh, medical director, Provider Engagement. “It’s important that patients continue to receive this important preventive care.”

What you need to know about mammograms and COVID-19 vaccine boosters

In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots this fall. As patients prepare to receive either a COVID-19 vaccine or the COVID-19 booster, it’s important that they have their screening mammogram done prior to their vaccine or booster, or at least four weeks after.

The COVID-19 vaccine can cause a temporary enlargement of lymph nodes, making the mammogram to appear abnormal and resulting in a false positive, as we wrote in an August Record article. The Society of Breast Imaging** recommends scheduling screening mammograms either prior to the COVID-19 vaccine or four weeks after the vaccine to give the lymph nodes time to return to their normal size. 

What some health care providers are doing to promote breast cancer screening

Here are some tips from other providers who are working to boost their breast cancer screening rates:

• Send requisitions directly to patients with gaps in care to remind them to schedule their mammogram.
• Schedule the patient for their mammogram when they are in the office for another reason. 
• Send a requisition for a mammogram directly to an associated radiology department and have the department call the patient to schedule.
• Call members who are past due for their breast cancer screening and connect them directly to a breast imaging center for scheduling.
• Have specialists help close breast cancer screening gaps by encouraging them to look at the “Gaps in Care” section of the patient’s electronic health record. 
• Reach out to patients during specific months of the year to highlight the importance of breast cancer screening. For example, in May for Mother’s Day or October for Breast Cancer Screening Awareness Month. 
• Create a contest for practices within a physician organization to close the most gaps in care, with a special lunch or some other reward provided to the practice that wins. 

Breast Cancer Screening tip sheet 

As you read in an August Record article, breast cancer screening is a key HEDIS^® measure*** for our commercial members, as well as a Star Ratings measure for Medicare Advantage members. In the article, we linked to a Breast Cancer Screening tip sheet that has information to include in medical records, codes to include on patient claims to exclude patients who had a mastectomy and tips for talking with patients about this measure.

The Breast Cancer Screening tip sheet is one of a series of HEDIS and Medicare Star Ratings tip sheets that have been posted in the Clinical Quality Corner section of web-DENIS. To access them, follow these steps:

1. From the homepage of web-DENIS, click on BCBSM Provider Publications and Resources.
2. Click on Newsletters & Resources.
3. Click on Clinical Quality Corner.

We encourage you to check them out.

**Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this website.

***HEDIS^®, which stands for Healthcare Effectiveness Data Information Set, is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.