The latest attack on mammography raises a couple of compelling questions for radiology: how to manage the damage and how to improve results

A Swiss medical ethicist and a clinical epidemiologist reveal in the New England Journal of Medicine that the Swiss Medical Board has called for a moratorium on any new screening mammography programs in Switzerland and a time limit on those that currently exist.

In the latest of a series of articles questioning the value of annual mammograms for breast cancer screening, a meta-analysis of previously published studies estimates that mammography reduces the overall breast cancer rate by just about 19% (and closer to 15% in women aged 40 to 50), with an equivalent percentage of over diagnosis in younger women.

Its full steam ahead as the health insurance exchange (HIE) open enrollment period comes to a close. With the announcement that 7 million individuals have enrolled in the plan, many changes are expected based on this new patient population.

In a landmark achievement for the American College of Radiology, Congress passed legislation that preserves physician reimbursement for 12 months and requires them to consult appropriateness criteria prior to ordering advanced imaging for Medicare patients.

While a long-term solution to the sustainable growth-rate (SGR) problem has slid to the backburner, a bipartisan 12-month SGR fix has emerged in the U.S. House of Representatives that would preserve physician compensation levels—and require referring physicians to consult appropriateness criteria when ordering advanced medical imaging procedures for Medicare patients.

A bill introduced in the California Senate has been amended to remove the in-office exception (IOE) for advanced imaging and radiation oncology from the state’s self-referral regulations. Additionally, SB 1215 would prohibit physicians in the state of California from self-referring for anatomic pathology and physical therapy services.

In a good-news–bad-news scenario for the radiology community, President Obama’s $3.9 trillion 2015 fiscal year budget would limit the self-referral rampant in advanced imaging and radiation oncology, but implement prior authorization for advanced imaging.