In-House Mammography Improves Patient Care and Compliance

Even with the best intentions, many women put off their annual mammogram. It’s one more appointment to schedule, one more trip to the imaging center or hospital; and, with so many demands on their time, many women don’t make the time. One company is working to increase compliance by helping physician practices provide their patients with in-office mammograms.  

Since the late 1980s, ONsite Mammography has been working to improve the early detection of breast cancer by making it easier for women to get annual mammograms. The company partners with OB/GYN and primary care practices to provide mammograms in the office as part of patients’ annual well visit exams. Last year alone, ONsite performed more than 150,000 mammograms for its physician partners. In 2013 ONsite began making the transition to 3D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) as their standard technology for annual breast cancer screening. 

Seamless for Physicians, Convenient for Patients

“We know early detection through annual mammograms is the key to changing the outcomes of breast cancer,” stated Karl Schmidt, president and CEO of ONsite Mammography. “So, we make it as easy as possible for women to have a screening mammogram by making it part of the in-office healthcare services physicians offer their patients.” 

ONsite provides a complete turnkey solution, including state-of-the-art mammography/tomosynthesis technology, experienced technologists and radiologists, as well as marketing and scheduling support. “We manage the entire mammography process, enabling our physician-partners to provide the best healthcare service without making a major investment in equipment and staff. Our goal is to add value for the patients and physicians,” stated Schmidt. 

A Comprehensive Well Woman Visit

ONsite recently partnered with the Women’s Health Care Group of PA (WHCGPA), a practice with 95 OB/GYN physician members in Western Philadelphia, to create a Center for Breast Health in Paoli, Pa. WHCGPA is dedicated to providing women with access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art and affordable heath care. “We wanted to make the annual mammogram a more positive experience for patients,” explained Stephen Krell, M.D., president and founder. “Collectively, the physicians in our group order over 100,000 mammograms a year, so we were exploring a way to offer mammography in our facilities. Screening mammograms are critical for detecting breast cancer at the earliest possible stage; and, we wanted to make it an easier, more convenient and less stressful annual exam for our patients. I really like ONsite Mammography’s model and their experience in providing in-office mammography services.”  

Mary Reuther, a certified mammographer with ONsite Mammography, manages the Center for Breast Health providing services for six of the practices. They perform as many as 40 mammograms a day. “We are an extension of the practice,” explained Reuther. “We have the patient’s history, and their prior records, so she is integrated into the mammography service right in the practice. Physicians know when they send patients to the center they will receive the best service. We bring convenience, comfort, confidentiality and
consistency to practices and patients.” 

Patients at the Center for Breast Health receive their results within an hour of completing the exam. A nurse practitioner is on staff to meet with each patient to teach thorough self-breast exams. 

3D Technology Changes the Mammography Experience

The Center for Breast Health is the first ONsite Mammography site to offer 3D mammography, utilizing
the Hologic Selenia Dimensions breast tomosynthesis system. “Our radiologists are seeing things on 3D they cannot see on the 2D images in the same examination, so we are finding things earlier and smaller on 3D than we can on 2D,” stated Schmidt. “We are in the process of transitioning three of our existing 28 2D systems to 3D; and, going forward, we will implement 3D mammography at all new breast imaging sites.” ONsite has fellowship-trained breast imagers reading all images. “This is all we do. We use the best radiologists in the country,” stated Schmidt. “Our radiologists have extensive experience and exacting standards.”

Michael Spencer, M.D., president of Total Radiology Solutions (TRS), reads over 20,000 mammograms a year for ONsite locations, including the 3D mammograms for the Center for Breast Health in Paoli. “We love the 3D images,” stated Spencer. “We’re finding the callback rate is going down. Just this morning, we had a patient who would have been called back based on the 2D images, but on the 3D images, we could see clearly it was just superimposed tissue.”

“Our mission is to detect breast cancer earlier and save lives by providing high-quality, patient-centric mammography services,” concluded Schmidt. “We are finding cancers in patients in their late 40s or early 50s who hadn’t had a mammogram in years because it wasn’t convenient. Just the number of patients getting annual mammograms now, because their physician offers it in the office, is rewarding.”

Case study supplied by Hologic, Inc.

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