BREAST CANCER SCREENING: CMA To Launch Mammography Program
The California Medical Association and California Medical Review, Inc. have launched "a campaign to improve the alarmingly low mammogram rate among California women aged 65 and over." The Physician Leader reports that the program focuses on making doctors and patients in five Northern California counties aware that "Medicare now covers one mammogram per year for eligible women." Under the new guidelines, the "Medicare part B deductible also will be waived." The CMA has sent patient education materials to 2,400 physicians in Sacramento, San Francisco, Alameda, Fresno and Solano counties. In addition, a joint letter from the CMA and CMRI was sent to "Medicare-eligible women in those counties encouraging them to ask their physicians for annual mammograms." According to research conducted by CMRI, "only 43% of Medicare-enrolled women over 65 who were not in an HMO received mammograms in 1995" (5/7).
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