In the U.S. today, there’s a 1 in 8 chance a woman will be diagnosed with the disease. About 42,170 women will die from breast cancer in 2020 alone. While these are sobering statistics, we know that early detection saves lives.
According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the five-year survival rate is 99%. It’s especially important to encourage women not only to get mammograms but to seek out follow-up care.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard highlighting quality improvement measures—including breast cancer screening rates—voluntarily reported by states. The breast cancer screening report shows the percentage of women ages 50 to 74 who received a screening mammogram in each state. The median across all states that submitted data was 54.6%, which means more work remains to educate and encourage women to get timely cancer screenings.
Driving Clinical Outcomes
HMS’ health engagement solution uses personalized, multichannel outreach to educate women on the importance of breast cancer screenings. Women are reminded to schedule their mammograms, barriers to care are collected, and assistance scheduling appointments is provided, if needed. Women in the Medicaid population are far more likely to report socioeconomic barriers to care such as lack of transportation or concerns about childcare. When possible, we address any barriers by providing additional resources or benefits education.
Our preventive care outreach programs are designed by health engagement experts to improve breast cancer screening rates as measured by the Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard, HEDIS® and CMS Star Ratings. The women we engage have a nearly 13% higher breast cancer screening rate than those not engaged.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s even more important to remind women that delayed or canceled appointments could have long-term health consequences. Breast cancer treatment is most effective when the disease is caught early.
The HMS team is committed to raising awareness about breast cancer by celebrating survivors and remembering those we’ve lost. We’ll also continue the work we do to help save lives by encouraging women to take action and get a mammogram.
Together, we can beat breast cancer. Join us in the fight.
To learn more about HMS' Eliza preventive care outreach programs, contact us today.
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