Impact of low-cost mammography screening on nearby mammography practices.

Data derived from the first 30 months of operation of a low-cost mammography screening program demonstrate the impact of the introduction of low-cost screening on nearby mammography practices. Low-cost screening attracts a very different group of women than traditionally populate existing practices, and 93% represent "new business" rather than established mammography patients seeking examination at a lower price. Although low-cost screening does divert some women away from more expensive nearby practices, it also generates an approximately equal number of breast imaging cases for these neighbor practices, including problem-solving examinations to further evaluate screening-detected abnormalities and subsequent screening examinations for women who prefer more full-featured albeit costlier screening. Finally, a survey of nearby practices indicates that the introduction of low-cost screening had no measurable impact on the steadily increasing mammography case loads observed during the study period. Low-cost screening does not appear to be much of an economic threat to existing mammography practices, at least under the conditions in effect in the study area. It can indeed coexist successfully with traditional mammography practices that make no distinction in features and price between screening and problem-solving examinations.