Conclusion
In January 2015, Current Procedural Terminology
codes for tomosynthesis were approved and implemented
by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicare recognizes this technology and is reimbursing
the cost of DBT studies4
, but many private insurance
companies still consider this technology experimental.5,6
However, Illinois and Pennsylvania now require
insurance companies to cover DBT, so any resident who
chooses it will not receive a bill for this screening mammogram.7,8
The mammography community needs more data to
show the value and benefit of DBT to women, health
care systems, and private payers. PinnacleHealth
System sites will continue to collect system-wide data
to monitor recall and cancer detection rates to determine
how the numbers change as more patients become
aware of and request DBT