Top Women’s Imaging Centers to Watch in 2010

The war on breast cancer took on new meaning when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised its screening recommendations for breast cancer.1
The committee, whose guidance influences doctors, insurance companies and policy makers, suggested that women should start annual screenings for breast cancer at age 50 instead of 40.
This radical departure in protocol raised an uproar amongst physicians, cancer prevention societies and the general public. The American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology rejected the revision, announced they were sticking with their guidelines, advising annual mammograms starting at age 40.
While the debate over the efficacy of mammography screening marches on, the women’s imaging centers continue to fight the good fight on the front lines. While there still are no clear winners, with the combination of advanced technology, efficient workflow and the human touch, caregivers are gaining ground on the disease.

The Top Women’s Imaging Centers to Watch in 2010 feature recognizes the most advanced and forward-thinking imaging centers. The honorees tend to be early adopters of new technology, participants in clinical trials, and apply novel techniques and imaging systems.
We asked readers to submit nominations of worthy facilities to recognize based on their achievements in innovation, operational efficiency, customer service and teamwork. From there, the editors selected five centers to recognize as the “Top Women’s Imaging Centers to Watch in 2010.”
Take a look — these are the ones to watch. They include such preeminent institutions as Windsong, Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center, The Breast Care Center at University Community Hospital, Hamot for Women, Inland Imaging and Piedmont Outpatient Center.

Windsong Radiology Group, Williamsville, Depew, W. Amherst,
West Seneca, Hamburg, N.Y.
Innovation: The Windsong Radiology Group (WRG) has built a reputation during its 23-year history for excellence — not just in diagnostic imaging but in genuine patient care and service. Under the leadership of its founder Janet H. Sung, M.D., WRG has four imaging centers in the Greater Buffalo, N.Y. region, each distinguished as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence through the American College of Radiology.
In December 2009, the team of 14 board-certified, fellowship-trained radiologists cut the ribbon for the new Dr. Janet H. Sung Women’s Imaging Center at Windsong. The 14,000-square-foot facility was specifically designed for patient comfort, privacy and service efficiency. The layout allows for independent service to the divergent needs of screening and diagnostic mammography patients, and it has decreased wait times in both areas.
WRG continually raises the bar when it comes to state-of-the-art technology, consistently being the first in the region for the newest in imaging equipment and rolling over changing technologies at maximum five-year cycles. WRG has had many “firsts” for the region, including breast biopsy via stereotactic, MRI or ultrasound guidance, full-field digital mammography, computer-aided detection (CAD), breast ultrasound with 4D and volume imaging, dedicated breast MRI imaging, bone densitometry (DEXA), and the soon to be FDA-approved Tomosynthesis. Additionally, its sites conduct imaging exams on its 64-slice CT, large bore 1.5 Tesla MRI and bilateral breast MRI, PET/CT biopsy, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy systems.

Since patients often travel long distances for WRG’s expertise, additional services, such as biopsies, can often be provided during the same visit, alleviating patient anxiety.
Collectively, the WRG sites provided more than 89,000 mammograms and approximately 2,400 breast MRI studies in 2009.
WRG women’s imaging radiologist X. Cynthia Fan is currently involved in a retrospective clinical study looking at breast MRI indications and specifically presurgical screening to predict contralateral breast cancers in the community setting.
Operational Efficiency: The new Dr. Janet H. Sung Women’s Imaging Center was specifically designed to increase the operational efficiency. As one of the busiest imaging facilities in the United States, WRG sent a small contingent to numerous sites throughout the nation seeking insight for improvements in
workflow and patient service. They began small with the opening of a newly designed site in Hamburg, N.Y., in the summer of 2008. Following additional research, they refined its plans, opening its new Lancaster, N.Y., facility last summer.
The latest and most innovative women’s imaging center, dedicated to its founder Dr. Sung, opened its doors in December. The division of screening and diagnostic mammography has enabled the WRG team to provide more individualized attention to these very different subsets of patients.
Additionally, all of the patients’ touch points within the facility are time stamped and then later analyzed collectively to determine where improvements in throughput can be made with collaboration by technologists, managers and radiologists.
WRG is in the final stages of preparing to go live with a new robust radiology information system from Amicas. This new enterprise solution will give WRG the capability to interface with HEALTHeLINK of Western New York, becoming one of the first radiology centers to be connected to physicians, hospitals, and insurance organizations to share meaningful clinical information.
Patient Service: The WRG team of women’s imaging radiologists prefers to meet with every patient face-to-face to provide their immediate results at the time of their service. If additional work-up, such as a breast ultrasound or biopsy, is required, the WRG team is there to answer questions and facilitate additional phone consults with the patient and primary care physician during that visit.
Along with the opening of its newest center, WRG introduced its new, dedicated Breast Patient Navigator program. When patients receive unexpected results on a breast study, the program uses a special team approach to assist patients immediately, guiding them through what can be a difficult time if they face biopsy and possibly surgery. WRG sent two of its advanced practice technologists for additional training for BPN certification through the National Consortium of Breast Centers.
The BPN team works in conjunction with WRG’s registered nurses, creating a personal connection with patients including answers to complex questions, second opinion referrals, negative biopsy results, follow-ups, procedural protocols, off-hours phone assistance, and sometimes just simple hand holding.
Although they have surveyed referring physicians and patients for several years, WRG takes it a step further, providing each patient with a comment card, which gives the name of each team member who served them during their visit.
Comments from these surveys, along with yearly patient focus groups are then reviewed by the WRG team, including radiologists, so that they may continually enhance the patient experience.
Teamwork: Collaboration between on-site radiologists, administrators and team members is a hallmark of WRG. Its mix of clinical and operational experience allows them to meet the challenge of serving more than 500 patients daily. But it doesn’t end with internal group efforts.
Although WRG has built strong referring relationships, they appreciate the value of its success. WRG continuously strives to keep its support network of referring physicians abreast of technology changes and medical necessity guidelines while increasing its own internal level of service. This is accomplished through its lunch-and-learn programs, CME presentations and regular newsletters to the referring physicians and its own teams.
Following the opening of the new breast center, WRG also attracted a group of new breast surgeons to work in the connecting suite. The center said its neighbors also offer additional services to its patients, with radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and an ambulatory surgical center as other tenants in the medical park.
www.windsongradiology.com

Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center Long Branch, N.J.
Innovation: Since opening in 1994, the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center (JMWCBC) at Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) is a multidisciplinary comprehensive breast center. It offers a wide array of preventative, diagnostic, treatment, rehabilitation, psychosocial and educational services in one location. It offers TomoTherapy, digital mammograph, SecondLook iCAD, breast ultrasound, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast MRI, ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy, and film consultation.
JMWCBC has been the U.S. leader in patient enrollment to the multinational clinical trail of CT-laser mammography (CTLM). It is one of the 35 institutions continuing to collect follow-up data for the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST). Currently, the center is participating in the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) Trial.
Its Breast Imaging Center is designated as a Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR), accredited by MQSA since 1995, and earned national approval from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of American College of Surgeons (ACoS) as a “teaching hospital cancer program” for 27 years. The program is led by a nurse practitioner and genetic counselor who assess patients’ life-time risk,
develop individualized prevention plans, and employ an integrated medicine model that coordinates care from diagnosis through the treatment phase.
Operational Efficiency: Through the performance improvement initiative in 2009, JMWCBC improved its clinical operation efficiency and care coordination, as well as the case volume. Its telephone abandon rate has decreased by 5
percent, the screening no-show rate is decreased by 5 percent, and the past-due volume has decreased from 3,235 to 404. The overall breast center volume has increased by 15 percent.
The auto-fax mechanism is activated to reduce the report turnaround time to referring physician. A standardized data collection process in its mammography IT system has created a chartless environment, where staff can monitor patient volume, recall rates, sensitivity, specificity, true positive, false negative, PPV, and cancer detection rates precisely.
For cases that need additional imaging, dedicated program liason will coordinate among patients and referring physicians, ensuring the correct prescription is obtained, and the needed diagnostic workup is scheduled within a week. Negative cases can schedule their next appointment prior to leaving the center.
Patient Service: Every patient who walks in for a procedure is greeted with a fresh pink or red rose. The site’s patient satisfaction scores in 2009 were maintained at 98 percent or above, with 85 percent of the comments appraising the services and staff performance. All patient comments and recommendations are reviewed by the staff and administration to identify areas for improvement on a monthly basis.
The staff is recognized and rewarded for positive patient feedback through a facility-wide “I Made A Difference” initiative. At least 40 public educational/outreach events are offered to promote breast healthcare.
As the grantee of Susan G. Komen for The Cure – Reach Out for Life program, the center provided 650 free screening mammograms and diagnostic workup to the underserved patients in the area in 2009. A patient-centered Web site (www.monmouthwilentzbreastcenter.com) also provides a valuable tool for patients.
Teamwork: The leadership team in JMWCBC includes two medical directors (one imaging director, one medical director) and an administrative director, to ensure the entire team works well together. A multidisciplinary breast cancer conference is hosted on the weekly basis, to discuss every newly diagnosed cancer patient’s case prospectively by breast surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, genetic counselors, nurses, breast cancer navigators, social workers, and other healthcare providers. The individualized treatment plans, compliant with national guidelines, are documented and discussed with patients and healthcare providers. The first course of treatment is monitored through oncology data center staff.
www.saintbarnabas.com

Hamot for Women Hamot Medical Center, Erie, Pa.
Innovation: Hamot for Women, part of Hamot Medical Center, was recently designated as a Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The center uses the most advanced technologies and modern approaches to patient care, including digital mammography, 1.5T breast MRI, and ultrasound units with elastography for breast sonography.
The mammography platform at Hamot includes dual-anode technology, a dose-saving feature to match exposure rates with breast density and thickness. Physicians also can review and evaluate current and past exams from all modalities on one dedicated workstation.
Operational Efficiency: Exam times and even recall rates are reduced due to the immediate transfer of the patient image to the acquisition workstation after exposure, allowing the technologist to review the image before moving on to the next. Here, images and previous examinations, even from other modalities, can be viewed, which helps physicians
assess potential abnormalities.
Callbacks are diminished with the image manipulation on the system. Users can brighten, darken, and magnify images and can easily toggle between old and new mammograms to note differences. This can reduce the examination time per patient as well as recall rates. It is also extremely helpful for needle-wire localizations, cutting procedure time in half. The facility now performs approximately 30 exams per day on a single digital mammography platform.
Hamot recently added a second digital mammography platform, allowing for its increased patient volumes, better scheduling of diagnostic mammograms and needle-wire localization procedures.
Patient Service: For patients diagnosed with breast cancer, two nurse navigators help guide them through the process from diagnosis to treatment, explaining procedures, answering questions and providing support.
The center provides same-day reads for all of its diagnostic mammograms/breast sonograms, and screening mammograms, if the patient so desires. Following a diagnostic work-up, the radiologist will spend time, one-on-one with the patient, answering questions, reviewing images, and arranging any necessary biopsies. The patient will leave the facility knowing the results of her diagnostic mammogram/breast ultrasound and the next steps to be taken.
Hamot’s most innovative idea is the “mammo-marathon,” held each October. It provides women with 24-hour screening mammogram services. They are encouraged to come with a friend, in their pajamas if they wish. “Round-the clock” mammograms and refreshments are provided to ensure everyone has fun. It was picked up by the national news the first year it began and the program continues to grow. At this past October’s mammo-marathon, the centers did nearly 100 mammograms.
Teamwork: Hamot’s breast team members possess experience specific to women’s health. For example, all digital mammograms and breast MRI exams are interpreted by dedicated breast radiologists. Medical and radiation oncologists with a keen interest in breast cancer round out Hamot’s breast health team, providing up-to-date treatment on an individual basis. Surgery is performed by highly trained and experienced breast surgeons.
When a patient comes in with a question, has an unknown breast problem, or needs additional attention, the technologists will advise the radiologist. If the radiologist then sees a worrisome finding on a screening mammogram, he or she will assign it a “pink ribbon,” which will alert the technologists and the schedulers to get the patient back in for her diagnostic studies, within a week. Then, should the diagnostic studies warrant a biopsy, the technologist is ready to get it scheduled in an expedient manner, seamless to the patient. If cancer is diagnosed with that biopsy, the patient will meet with the nurse navigators to gain information, answer questions, and, most importantly, receive support.
Breast MRI exams also are done on almost all newly diagnosed cancer patients. If MRI-guided biopsies are needed, nurse navigators arrange this within the week.
In addition, every Friday morning, the staff has a breast cancer conference, where the multidisiplinary team, consisting of nurses, breast radiologists, pathologists, breast surgeons, and radiation and medical oncologists, meet to discuss the week’s breast cancer cases and treatment plans. At Hamot, teamwork helps with screening, diagnosing and treating every breast cancer patient on an individual basis.
www.hamot.org

Inland Imaging Deer Park, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Wash.
Innovation: Inland Imaging has three fully digital Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence (BICOE), accredited in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided core needle breast biopsy, as awarded by the American College of Radiology.
With a breast MRI and biopsy program in place, the centers offers vacuum-assisted biopsy provider in ultrasound, stereotactic, and MR. The radiologists utilize CAD with digital mammography and breast MR. Voice recognition speeds up report and results turnaround times. The Inland Northwest site introduced the first positron emission mammography (PEM) system. Inland Imaging offers a comprehensive OB ultrasound program, including fetal growth charting. Bone densitometry is also part of its women’s imaging practice.
Inland Imaging provides pelvic ultrasound and MRI as part of the imaging prior to uterine artery embolization provided by the site’s interventionalists. Other interventional services include biopsies, drainages, venous access procedures, angioplasty, stenting, clot dissolution, venoplasty, uterine fibroid embolization, vein embolization, radioactive bead therapy, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, angiography, gastrotomy tube placement, TIPPS procedures, and Y90 embolization.
Operational Efficiency: Technical assistants (TA) for mammography, CT, ultrasound and MRI, allow technologists to interact more with each patient, while TAs handle
ancillary administrative work. There are dedicated, subspecialty radiologists on site to interact with technical staff and patients, thus allowing timely workup. Inland Imaging has customized, developed and implemented RadWorkFlow, a custom- designed software program for distributing workflow by subspecialty, to improve turnaround time for final report results.
Patient Service: Inland Imaging offers sedation as needed for interventional procedures as well as MRI. Since opening two new dedicated screening mammography centers, the facilities can accept walk-in patients and same-day add-on appointments. Adding more screening mammography capacity has allowed the center to increase its capacity for diagnostic mammography workup exams. Patients having diagnostic breast imaging (mammography and/or ultrasound) are provided initial results prior to leaving the center. Positive breast imaging results are called to referring clinicians to expedite patient care.
To improve efficiency, a specialized scheduler coordinates biopsy and breast localization procedures. The centers have added radiologist and ultrasound coverage to accommodate need for more diagnostic breast workups and stereotactic biopsy, thus decreasing wait times for patients between initial imaging and final workup. Screening mammography and ultrasound hours are extended into early evening and Saturdays to better accommodate patient work schedules.
Teamwork: Breast imagers work closely with breast surgeons for smooth and seamless patient care. Weekly rounds allow physicians to review challenging cases.
Inland Imaging organizes seminars in the community, such as continuing medical education events, which are designed to educate and meet the needs of referring clinicians. The center also offers educational opportunities for technologists in the community as well as its own staff.
Administrators work with technical managers and radiologists in evaluating the needs of this busy practice, reviewing volume benchmarks, patient satisfaction surveys, referring clinician surveys, and employee satisfaction surveys.
Inland Imaging also assists affiliated rural sites by evaluating equipment and sharing of protocols.
www.inlandimaging.com

Piedmont Outpatient Center, Piedmont Newnan Hospital Service, Newnan, Ga.
Innovation: Open for a little more than a month, the 10,000-square-foot Piedmont Outpatient Center (POC), a Piedmont Newnan Hospital service, showed its commitment to providing the community of 131,936 with access to the latest in technology, when the center’s leadership opted to go fully digital.
The center is part of Piedmont Healthcare, which has established the goal of being one of the top 10 health systems in the nation within 10 years. The POC’s dedication to quality and patient satisfaction will help make it possible to achieve this goal, and makes this center one of the best.
The center chose the modalities and technology that enable it to provide the highest-quality CT scans, diagnostic X-ray, ultrasound, digital mammography and DEXA scans, as well as stereotactic and vacuum-assisted breast biopsy procedures. These include a Siemens Emotions 16-Slice CT scanner, CTA and 3D applications. Two new full-field digital Hologic Selenia Mammography Units provide high image quality and improve the efficiency of exams. There is a Siemens Multix X-ray unit with a Konica Express CR system, and for ultrasound a Phillips IU 22 ultrasound with 3D/4D applications.
The PACS allows digital viewing, reporting and storage of medical images and reports. The main benefit to patients is that it allows radiologists to reference a patient’s records more quickly and efficiently. The GE Centricity 3.0 provides the PACS.
A new Hologic stereotactic breast biopsy unit and vacuum-assisted breast biopsy unit were added, giving the center the capability of performing both stereotactic and vacuum-assisted breast biopsy procedures. A Suros ATEC Pearl Breast Biopsy and Excision System also supports stereotactic or ultrasound guidance. Computer-aided detection (CAD), which assists physicians in the interpretation of digital mammography images, is now available. The CAD system scans images for atypical appearances, highlights conspicuous sections, such as possible diseases and provides a second read for the radiologist, as well as added reassurance for patients.
The center’s R2 Digitizer, an R2 DigitalNow DMax Film Digitizing System and Cenova with HD, allows staff to scan and digitize old analog mammography images, along with images performed at outside facilities, into the PACS system. This innovation makes the process of comparing mammography films more efficient for the radiologist and provides a more complete profile of a patient’s health history.
Operational Efficiency: Piedmont Newnan Hospital is known for its collaborative atmosphere, which carries over to the POC.
The center’s staff, including on-site radiologists, saw room for improvement and completed a LEAN project to restructure the scheduling process in order to streamline workflow and increase throughput.
The POC is now using centralized scheduling, which allows for the patient or physician to call a single telephone number to make an appointment. POC also provides precertification services with insurance companies and works to make sure orders and paperwork are complete prior to patients arriving for their appointments to allow for maximum time efficiencies.
The POC physician liaison ensures all referring physicians have the materials and information they need to streamline their patients’ experiences.
POC has radiologists on-site during operating hours, which opens up more scheduling opportunities for diagnostic procedures.
POC staff members make sure all available previous films/reports
are on hand for diagnostic and biopsy procedures.
If a breast ultrasound is recommended after a mammogram, it is performed the same day. All diagnostic mammography patients speak directly to the radiologist about their results the same day as the exam. POC staff realize that patients are anxious to hear their test results, so the on-site radiologists communicate breast biopsy results to patients as soon as they are available.
One unique feature of the POC is its focus on the personal needs of the patient and use of volunteer hostesses who assist patients with the preparations needed for exams. The hostesses, who are able to answer basic questions, have a natural, soothing personality that enables them to provide a more pleasant patient
experience. An unexpected benefit of having the hostesses at the center is it assists the technologists to increase productivity by freeing them from the duties of preparing patients.
With the goals of maximizing efficiencies and providing a positive patient experience, the center is designed so women who visit for mammograms or DEXA exams are directed to one area, while those visiting for general imaging services are directed to a separate area. This
allows for an increased level of privacy for POC patients.
Patient Service: Patients appreciate the spa-like approach to patient care and upgraded outpatient radiological services. Staff and volunteer hostesses strive to make patients feel comfortable. As such, POC has received calls from patients saying: “I’m calling to let you know that I enjoyed my mammogram.”
While it’s an unusual comment for a patient to make after receiving a diagnostic imaging test, comments like this one from a 69-year-old woman are becoming common in the community.
When the POC was in the planning stages, one of the identified goals was to not only provide consumers with the best imaging services, but to also focus on the entire care experience for the patient. As a result, patient satisfaction is one of the strongest points of the Piedmont Outpatient Center.
Access to the latest technology makes the POC attractive, but the creature comforts make it appealing. Soothing music is piped in throughout the center. The decor was chosen for its spa-like appeal. To make each visit a little more enjoyable, a refreshment bar is provided in each dressing suite along with a luxurious, heated bath robe. In each suite, as well as throughout the entire experience, hostesses pay special attention to the personal needs of the patients.
The POC also provides a patient education suite with computer stations where patients can view procedures or research information on a health-related topic. Brochures and pamphlets are also available for patients to take home and review later. If a patient chooses, they can also receive instructions on breast self-exam.
Scheduling assistants work with patients and physicians to schedule appointments for when patients need them, even on the same day if that is requested.
The goal of the POC staff is 100 percent satisfaction whether it is patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction or employee satisfaction. Press Ganey tracks the POC’s patient satisfaction scores, and the POC staff members are proud to share that they are in the 99th percentile for patient satisfaction.
One of the patient comments that stood out was: “Staff is awesome; feel like you are being catered to — love the refreshments, the warm and real robe, the beauty of the POC — all great touches, but these would be nothing without the staff. Their caring and compassion — they just get better and better; customer service is the name of the game.”
Teamwork: A new beginning means an opportunity to shape an organization’s culture. Prior to its opening, leaders of the POC worked to instill a strong spirit of collaboration and teamwork in all of the schedulers, registrars, receptionists and radiologists, as well as the hostesses.
As a result of these efforts, staff members are united to make the POC a success. The spirit of the staff has increased the hospital’s
visibility in the community. This resulted in physicians, who previously directed their patients elsewhere, referring their patients to
the POC.
This commitment to service extends beyond the POC’s physical walls out into the community. For example, the radiologists’ cell phone numbers are provided to physician practices; radiologists use the feedback they receive from patients and physicians to help shape their input into the marketing and promotion; and the POC staff work to continuously update one another on the physician practices needing materials such as literature, education, and order forms.
Open for just over a month, final revenue data is not available, but early projections indicate that the POC will be a successful venture because of its new technology, staff commitment to service, creative approach to providing care, and excellent relationships with local physicians.
www.piedmontnewnan.org

Honorable Mentions
In recognition of the many worthy facilities that submitted their information to this review, this section highlights those that stood out under one or more of the four criteria.

The Breast Center at Hattiesburg Clinic, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Innovation: The Breast Center at Hattiesburg Clinic is recognized by the American College of Radiology (ACR) as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence.
The Breast Center offers customers the latest in technical and personal services available — all in a relaxing spa-like environment. The center offers one-day services that include a personal and private interview process using MagView Software, screening and diagnostic digital mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic biopsy-using vacuum- assisted technology, dedicated breast MRI and bone densitometry.
The center is accredited by the American College of Radiology in digital mammography and voluntarily participates in ACR accredited stereotactic biopsy, breast ultrasound and breast ultrasound biopsy. It also voluntarily participates in accreditation of Breast MRI through ICAMRL. In addition, it evaluates customers’ Gail and BRCA scores for genetic testing and Breast MRI recommendations.
Genetic counseling is offered through a qualified surgeon. Each of its customer’s health needs is monitored by using the MagView reporting system, providing recommendation and notification letters to
its customers.
Patient Service: When a customer arrives, she is greeted by a receptionist, and escorted to a private dressing room where she is given a comfortable robe to change into. Here, the patient can lock her personal belongings in a private locker for the length of her exams. The customer is then escorted to a spa-like sub-waiting room where she can enjoy relaxing music until a private room is available.
Once the customer is escorted into a private room, a personal interviewer will assist her through the interview process on the MagView program PC. During the interview, the customer provides and confirms information by an electronic signature, verifying that all the information obtained is correct. Once the interview is completed, the customer is escorted back to the sub-waiting area for a few brief moments. Then, a registered mammographer reviews the MagView information and asks the customer to accompany her into the digital mammography room.
Here, the patient undergoes a digital mammogram exam, which takes about 10 minutes. After the procedure is completed, the patient is escorted back to her private locker and dressing room.
www.hattiesburgclinic.com
Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, West Orange, N.J.
Innovation: Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center uses several types of imaging modalities and IT technology to screen, diagnose and recommend treatment. The new technology this facility has adopted and implemented to optimize
patient care includes the following: screening and diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasound, stereotactic core biopsy, ultrasound-guided core biopsy, ultrasound cyst aspiration, calactogram, and breast needle localization devices. An all digital mammogram-only site, it offers triple reads.
The center provides breast MRI, MRI-guided core biopsy and dexa scans, as well as all radiology services in house for PET, MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, diagnostic X-ray, and ultrasound exams. Saint Barnabas also offers women’s cardiac services. Doctors at the center perform more than 60,000 breast procedures annually, making it the largest women’s breast center in the region. It also has a satellite Women’s Imaging Center in Bedminster, N.J.
Teamwork: Saint Barnabas has more than 300 community-based educational programs led by breast surgeons, radiology and nursing staff on and off site. On-site breast surgeons evaluate and treat breast cancer patients in a timely fashion. The breast cancer care team accepts all insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Plus, grants from Susan G. Komen provide free mammograms and breast MRIs for women in the community who are unable to pay and have no health insurance.
www.saintbarnabas.com
The Breast Care Center University Community Hospital, Tampa, Fla.
Innovation: State-of-the-art equipment includes two Hologic Selenia digital mammography units, Siemens Sonata 1.5 MRI with dynaCAD and Mammotome biopsy capabilities, GE Logic 9 ultrasound, and Hologic prone stereotactic biopsy.
Operational Efficiency: All necessary components from scheduling to authorizations are done at the Breast Center. The mammo reporting system facilitates thorough and expedient turnaround time in reports, allowing the patient to return for additional imaging more quickly.
www.uch.org

Reference:
1. Screening for Breast Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Annals of Internal Medicine. Nov. 17, 2009 151:I-44.