Who gets repeat screening mammography: the role of the physician.
To determine rates of, and explore physician factors associated with, repeat mammography, administrative data for 791 women aged 50 years and older were examined. Three-fourths of the women (73%) received repeat mammography (i.e., a second mammogram was obtained within six to 18 months of the first). Provider factors associated with higher repeat mammography rates were: being a woman, practicing in the women's health group rather than the general internal medicine service, and being a fellow or an attending physician (p-values < 0.01). Patients of women attendings/fellows had higher repeat mammography rates than did those of men attendings/fellows, men residents, and women residents. Characteristics (gender, level of training) of providers strongly influence their patients' screening behavior.
Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston University Medical Center Hospital, MA, USA.
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Burns
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Freund
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Shwartz
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Hall
D001900:Boston; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D010822:Physicians, Women; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016387:Women's Health