Mammography

According to a 2005 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer death in women and the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. Locally, breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of premature deaths for women in New Mexico.

Mammography is the most effective method of diagnosing breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Mammograms can detect cancer up to two years before a lump can be felt; and that more than 97 percent of women whose breast cancer is found localized to the breast and treated early will survive.

Despite the fact that periodic screening mammography has been shown to save lives by detecting breast cancer early, when it is most treatable, this important screening test has been underutilized.

NMMRA works with physician offices and clinics, health plans, medical groups, mammography centers, hospitals and other partners to increase mammography utilization rates among female Medicare beneficiaries. This support is provided at no charge to physician offices because NMMRA, as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New Mexico, receives funding to focus on mammography from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Medicare Mammography Benefits, Reimbursement Coding, and Frequently Asked Questions

NMMRA Mammography Quality Improvement Tools and Materials

To learn more about participating with NMMRA in quality improvement projects on mammography, contact Patricia Montoya, RN, MPA, quality improvement manager, at (505) 998-9735.  If you would like to request Medicare data on mammography rates in New Mexico, contact Galina Priloutskaya, PhD, MBA, senior analyst, at (505) 998-9765.