Imagine being able to walk into a Walmart and getting your annual mammogram before you pick up groceries? Thanks to MammogramNow by RadNet and Breastlink, women in Delaware and California can have access to 3D mammograms at select Walmart Supercenters. The best part: no appointment or doctor’s prescription is required.
Addressing the Barriers to Getting Screened for Breast Cancer
If you live in a rural area, long travel times associated with getting a breast cancer screening can often be challenging. A study found that up to 50% of patients in 28 states cited transportation issues as a reason they hadn’t made an appointment. The goal of MammogramNow is to remove barriers to breast cancer screenings. These services will become more critical, especially in rural areas, as 176 hospitals are at risk of closing due to cuts in Medicaid services.
Dr. Greg Sorenson, Executive Vice President at RadNet, discussed the importance of the Walmart initiative. “You go through the checkout counter, and there you can get a hot dog, your hand nails done, do some banking, or in three of these, there’s a mammography place, ” he explains. “And we find a lot more women getting first-time mammograms at these locations, because they just haven’t lived near an easy, convenient place.”
This partnership between RadNet and Breastlink ensures that when you visit a supercenter offering this service, you receive state-of-the-art care. Powered by Hologic 3D imaging, Breastlink’s fellowship-trained breast radiologists then interpret the images. The exams deliver both convenience and clinical expertise.
The Walmart Supercenters Offer AI-Powered Enhanced Breast Cancer Detection
Another benefit of the MammogramNow program is access to RadNet’s Enhanced Breast Cancer Detection (EBCD). For an additional fee of $40 (if not covered by insurance), eligible patients can receive another layer of screening. EBCD a safeguard review that uses AI technology to detect abnormalities and enable early breast cancer detection. If you have ever had to have follow-up visits after your annual mammogram, this kind of service can cut down on the anxiety associated with them.
Dr. Sorenson explains what happens with some women. He says breast cancer resembles a golf ball on a snow field. “So, when 1000 women get screened, the doctor thinks they see a potential golf ball in about 100 of them. Those women come back and get imaged again,” he says. “And of those 100, about 15 or so we will biopsy, because we see something on the follow-up where we think, aha, there’s something there. And so we should biopsy, and of those 15, five or six actually have cancer.”
How EBCD Works
With EBCD, artificial intelligence doesn’t replace radiologists but works alongside them to reduce uncertainty. Here’s how it works. “Most physicians have a peer review process. It means one doctor kind of looks over the other’s shoulder to make sure everything’s going okay, and a lot of us have done peer review over the years,” he says.”But the fun thing about the safeguard review is it’s a targeted peer review just for the most dangerous cancer cases. So it brings in another doctor to essentially make sure there’s three sets of eyes, the first doctor, the AI, and then, if needed, a second set of human eyes.”
Dr. Sorenson notes that this could be especially helpful for those with dense breast tissue who are often called back for additional testing.
So while the service is in a few Walmart stores, we suspect services like these and others will expand to provide access to preventive health services to more people in the future. And if you live in an urban area, you can check out RadNet centers around the country to check your eligibility for EBCD.
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