Annual return rates to mammography facilities by women age 50 and older

Data were collected at multiple mammography facilities to determine the use of inreach strategies for asymptomatic women age 50 and older and the annual return rates for screening by this age group. Interviews with 26 facility managers indicated that the majority use a reminder strategy. Using chart audits in a subset (n = 10) of the facilities of 475 randomly-selected patients, the return rate in 1991 (of patients seen in 1990) averaged 41% within 18 months after the 1990 appointment. Those data suggest that mammography providers, as well as the women they serve, could benefit from interventions to encourage annual mammograms.