Factors Associated With Rates of False-Positive and False-Negative Results From Digital Mammography Screening: An Analysis of Registry Data.

Background: Women screened with digital mammography may receive false-positive and false-negative results and subsequent imaging and biopsies. How these outcomes vary by age, time since the last screening, and individual risk factors is unclear.

Objective: To determine factors associated with false-positive and false-negative digital mammography results, additional imaging, and biopsies among a general population of women screened for breast cancer.

Identification of abnormal screening mammogram interpretation using Medicare claims data.

Objective: To develop and validate Medicare claims-based approaches for identifying abnormal screening mammography interpretation.

Data Sources: Mammography data and linked Medicare claims for 387,709 mammograms performed from 1999 to 2005 within the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC).

Study Design: Split-sample validation of algorithms based on claims for breast imaging or biopsy following screening mammography.

Association of living alone and hospitalization among community-dwelling elders with and without dementia.

Background: Older persons account for the majority of hospitalizations in the United States.1 Identifying risk factors for hospitalization among elders, especially potentially preventable hospitalization, may suggest opportunities to improve primary care. Certain factors-for example, living alone-may increase the risk for hospitalization, and their effect may be greater among persons with dementia and the old-old (aged 85+).

Upgrade of high-risk breast lesions detected on mammography in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium.

Background: Upgrade rates of high-risk breast lesions after screening mammography were examined.

Methods: The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium registry was used to identify all Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category 4 assessments followed by needle biopsies with high-risk lesions. Follow-up was performed for all women.

Validation of a Medicare Claims-based Algorithm for Identifying Breast Cancers Detected at Screening Mammography.

Background: The breast cancer detection rate is a benchmark measure of screening mammography quality, but its computation requires linkage of mammography interpretive performance information with cancer incidence data. A Medicare claims-based measure of detected breast cancers could simplify measurement of this benchmark and facilitate mammography quality assessment and research.

Objectives: To validate a claims-based algorithm that can identify with high positive predictive value (PPV) incident breast cancers that were detected at screening mammography.

Distinguishing screening from diagnostic mammograms using Medicare claims data.

Background: Medicare claims data may be a fruitful data source for research or quality measurement in mammography. However, it is uncertain whether claims data can accurately distinguish screening from diagnostic mammograms, particularly when claims are not linked with cancer registry data.

Objectives: To validate claims-based algorithms that can identify screening mammograms with high positive predictive value (PPV) in claims data with and without cancer registry linkage.

External validation of Medicare claims codes for digital mammography and computer-aided detection.

Background: While Medicare claims are a potential resource for clinical mammography research or quality monitoring, the validity of key data elements remains uncertain. Claims codes for digital mammography and computer-aided detection (CAD), for example, have not been validated against a credible external reference standard.

Methods: We matched Medicare mammography claims for women who received bilateral mammograms from 2003 to 2006 to corresponding mammography data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) registries in four U.

Association of incident dementia with hospitalizations.

Context: Dementia is associated with increased rates and often poorer outcomes of hospitalization, including worsening cognitive status. New evidence is needed to determine whether some admissions of persons with dementia might be potentially preventable.

Objective: To determine whether dementia onset is associated with higher rates of or different reasons for hospitalization, particularly for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs), for which proactive outpatient care might prevent the need for a hospital stay.