Researchers at Yale School of Public Health and Medical School Find State Laws Impact on Breast Ultrasound and Cancer Detection Rates

CHICAGO, March 22, 2019 / PRNewswire / – Certain Types of Breast Density Reporting Laws in States Lead to More Screening and May Moderately Increase Cancer Detection Rates, According to a New Study Published Today by Researchers Yale School of Public Health and School of Medicine (Yale), which used commercial insurance claims data from Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS). Yale researchers badyzed the data to determine whether various national laws, such as those requiring physicians to recommend more extensive screening procedures or simply requiring physicians to disclose additional information about dense bad tissue, have an impact on number of bad ultrasounds provided. cancer detection rate.

In states where the law is in effect, ultrasound and cancer detection rates have increased modestly, with approximately 10.5 more ultrasound scans per 1,000 mammograms and fewer bad cancer detected for 1,000 mammograms. In addition, the team found no change in clinical practice in states where legislation only requires doctors to provide more information on bad density.

About half of American women in their forties and fifties have dense bad tissue, which increases their risk of bad cancer and makes it more difficult to detect cancer on a mammogram. Many states have pbaded laws requiring health doctors to inform women of bad density after mammography. Some states have also recommended that women with high bad density consider additional screening tests, such as ultrasounds and MRIs.

"Although detecting cancers at an early stage should never be overlooked, the main goal of a screening program is to stop advanced cancer rates and save lives," said Cary Gross, one of the co-authors of the study and professor of medicine at Yale. "Further studies need to be conducted to determine whether additional and more aggressive forms of cancer screening actually contribute to this goal."

Yale researchers, along with eight other leading health research institutions and programs in the United States, are members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Alliance for Health Research (BCBS Alliance). This collaboration provides researchers with access to HIPAA compliant Blue Cross Blue Shield Axis data.^® (BCBS Axis) – the largest collection of insurance claims from companies, healthcare professionals and information on the cost of care – via a secure data portal.

"We think it's important that women have all the information they need to determine when and when to take the test," he said. Maureen Sullivan, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. "By working with Yale and the eight other prestigious institutions participating in the BCBS Alliance, our goal is to badyze and learn from critical health issues and to find meaningful solutions that improve the quality of care." and affordability for all Americans. "

BCBS Alliance was created in 2016 to engage leading US healthcare researchers to explore key questions and topics using BCBS Axis data. Researchers participating in this program meet periodically to share their views and discuss critical health and health system issues, thus contributing to the improvement of health care at the national level. Participants in the BCBS alliance include: Harvard Medical School, Princeton University, Rice University, Scripps Research Translational Institute, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Oklahoma and Yale.

For more information on the BCBS alliance, visit https://bcbs.com/the-health-of-america/research-alliance.

To learn more about the report published in the American Journal of Public Health, visit https://news.yale.edu/2019/03/21/bad-ultrasound-and-cancer-detection-increased- under-new -lois.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and the Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 locally-run, community-managed Blue Cross and Blue Shield independent societies that collectively provide health coverage to one in three Americans. . BCBSA provides health care information through Blue Cross Blue Shield, Report on the health of America^® series and the BCBS National Health Index. Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Axis and BCBS Axis are registered trademarks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to contact us at Facebook, watch our videoon YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.