ACR Leads Effort to Prevent Weakening of AMA Stance on Screening Mammography

ACR delegates led a successful effort to keep the AMA House of Delegates from weakening its guidelines on mammography screening today. As a result of ACR’s actions, the AMA will continue to support American Cancer Society, American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and ACR guidelines which direct women to start receiving annual mammograms at the age of 40. Also included in the resolution was a provision that calls for the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) to include expert representation on its guidelines panels as well as making the USPSTF process more transparent.

The ACR delegation as well as the AMA Section Council on Radiology felt strongly that the AMA Reference Committee’s recommendations to the original resolution changed existing AMA policy which recommends annual screening beginning at age 40. Had the reference committee’s recommendations gone through, ACR delegates strongly believed the resulting new policy would have only added more confusion for women still seeking clarification from the USPSTF mammography screening recommendations put forth in November of 2009.

The ACR will continue to work with AMA leaders and staff to defeat further efforts to weaken AMA’s strong stance on behalf of women’s access to screening mammography services.