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AMA Rebuffs Preventive Services Task Force, Backs Mammography at Age 40
The American Medical Association adopted a policy at its annual meeting Tuesday that says all women "should be eligible" for screening mammography at age 40, taking a stand in a continuing debate over the benefits and drawbacks of certain preventive services.
The influential doctors' group, meeting for five days in Chicago, issued a statement saying that mammography "is the most reliable breast cancer screening tool for the general population, but it also has limitations." The statement also said the doctors support insurance coverage for screening at age 40.
In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force caused an uproar when it recommended against routinely providing mammograms to healthy women before age 50 because there is some evidence that the net benefit is relatively small. But some health care advocates and physician groups strongly objected, and critics of the health care overhaul speculated that the government was trying to ration care.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said afterward that the task force does not set government policy and that women across the country were worried and confused by the recommendation. Medicare continues to pay for mammography screenings for all women age 40 and older every 12 months.
The task force came under fire again recently when it recommended against routine prostate cancer screening for men. Sebelius reacted by saying she would not end routine screening under Medicare "at this time."
The task force is an independent, government-sponsored panel that makes recommendations to clinicians on the benefits of disease screening, medications and counseling.
Patrice A. Harris, a member of the AMA board, said in a statement that early detection of breast cancer increases the odds of a patient's survival and mammography screenings are an important tool.
"All patients are different and have varying degrees of cancer risk, and patients should regularly talk with their doctors to determine if mammography screening is right for them," said Harris.
In other action, the AMA named Ardis Dee Hoven as its president-elect, which means she will become president in June 2013. Hoven, a member of the board of trustees, is an internal medicine and infectious disease specialist from Lexington, Ky.
Elected to the board was William E. Kobler of Rockford, Ill., a retired clinical assistant professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Re-elected was Mary Anne McCaffree, a neonatal-perinatal medicine specialist in Oklahoma City.
In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force caused an uproar when it recommended against routinely providing mammograms to healthy women before age 50 because there is some evidence that the net benefit is relatively small. But some health care advocates and physician groups strongly objected, and critics of the health care overhaul speculated that the government was trying to ration care.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said afterward that the task force does not set government policy and that women across the country were worried and confused by the recommendation. Medicare continues to pay for mammography screenings for all women age 40 and older every 12 months.
The task force came under fire again recently when it recommended against routine prostate cancer screening for men. Sebelius reacted by saying she would not end routine screening under Medicare "at this time."
The task force is an independent, government-sponsored panel that makes recommendations to clinicians on the benefits of disease screening, medications and counseling.
Patrice A. Harris, a member of the AMA board, said in a statement that early detection of breast cancer increases the odds of a patient's survival and mammography screenings are an important tool.
"All patients are different and have varying degrees of cancer risk, and patients should regularly talk with their doctors to determine if mammography screening is right for them," said Harris.
In other action, the AMA named Ardis Dee Hoven as its president-elect, which means she will become president in June 2013. Hoven, a member of the board of trustees, is an internal medicine and infectious disease specialist from Lexington, Ky.
Elected to the board was William E. Kobler of Rockford, Ill., a retired clinical assistant professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Re-elected was Mary Anne McCaffree, a neonatal-perinatal medicine specialist in Oklahoma City.