Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound (ABUS)
Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound offers a more focused view at areas of concern and is important for women with dense breast tissue.
Our risk assessment software helps to identify those patients with dense breast tissue who need a breast ultrasound.
Patients can receive a full complement of screening services without having to leave your office.
Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) is a supplemental screening tool designed to work in conjunction with a screening mammogram to detect potential instances of breast cancer in patients with dense breast tissue. Adequate screening mammography is required to support an ABUS program.
EVALUATING YOUR OFFICE FOR ABUS:
- Are there sufficient ABUS-eligible patients (dense breast patients) currently receiving screening mammograms in your office? OWH recommends a minimum annual screening volume of 2,500, but staffing and reimbursements also influence this number.
- Are you in a state with screening breast ultrasound-friendly policies and a community awareness of the benefit of ABUS?
- Do you refer out a high number of patients for breast ultrasound screening, and is this impacting your screening capture rate?
KEY STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTING ABUS:
- A separate room must be available for the ABUS machine (minimum 8’x8’). If space is unavailable, we can consider handheld whole-breast ultrasound as an alternative.
- If the practice proceeds with ABUS exams, OWH will purchase the machine. If the practice proceeds with handheld US, the practice is responsible for purchasing the probes for its ultrasound machine.
- If current staff do not have the capacity to conduct the projected ABUS exam, staffing augmentation and analysis may be required, and will potentially impact pricing.
- Density is determined at the time of the mammogram (through a real-time software analysis program), and patients with dense tissue (C or D) can receive same-day ABUS exams.
- Our teams will work together to educate patients on ABUS and schedule patients.