Effect of referring physician specialty and practice type on referral for image-guided breast biopsy

To determine whether referring physician specialty and practice type affect the likelihood of referral for image-guided breast biopsy.

We reviewed the records of every patient who received a Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category 4 or 5 examination (mammography, ultrasound, or both) performed during the year 2000 at both our community- and hospital-based practices. We recorded the referring physician specialty and office location (academic medical center vs. community), breast-imaging facility location (hospital vs. community), patient age, patient insurance status, BI-RADS category, and palpability of the lesion. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship of these factors to the biopsy type (surgical vs. image-guided).

Of the 831 patients with a BI-RADS Category 4 or 5 report, 734 underwent follow-up surgical or image-guided needle biopsy. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that referral by a nonsurgeon or by a physician at the academic medical center was associated with a higher likelihood of the patient's being referred for image-guided biopsy. Patients referred by surgeons and community physicians were more likely to undergo surgical biopsy. BI-RADS Category 5 examinations and palpable lesions were also associated with a higher probability of undergoing surgical biopsy. Patient age, insurance status, and breast-imaging facility location were not related to biopsy type.

In our practice, patients referred for breast imaging by nonsurgeons and academic physicians were more likely to be referred for image-guided biopsy, whereas patients referred by surgeons and community physicians were more likely to undergo surgical biopsy.