The Best Workflow Tools for Mobile Mammography Units

Mobile mammography units (MMUs) can be invaluable in helping breast centers increase access by extending their reach. This is especially true if they are using mammography reporting and tracking software that optimizes workflow between the MMU and the breast center while also creating a better patient experience. 

MMUs can help breast centers reach patients living in rural and underserved areas—as well as those who find it difficult to take time off work or secure childcare to attend mammogram appointments. 

Here, we’ll take a look at what additional research says about the important role MMUs play to increase access and how MagView can help breast centers make the most of their mobile offerings.

What Are Mobile Mammography Units and How Are They Used?

Mobile mammography units take breast cancer screening to the patient—instead of requiring the patient to visit a breast center in a fixed location. As noted in “Mobile Mammography Services and Underserved Women,” MMUs have been in use since the 1970s and may be housed in “vans, recreational vehicles, and traveling clinics.”

The study describes the valuable role MMUs play to help breast centers extend their reach:

• “…while all women have some risk of breast cancer, studies have found that some populations are more vulnerable to poor breast cancer outcomes. Specifically, women with lower socioeconomic status and of Black and Hispanic ethnicity have been found to have more advanced stages of cancer upon diagnosis. These findings correlate with studies that have found decreased use of screening mammography services in these underserved populations.”
• “To alleviate these healthcare disparities, mobile mammography units are well positioned to provide convenient screening services to enable earlier detection of breast cancer.”
• “The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted necessary screening services, and reinstatement and implementation of accessible mobile screenings may help to alleviate the impact of missed screenings.” 

How MagView Mammography Solutions Support the Operation of MMUs

MagView’s patient experience tools—such as text messaging, the Patient History Portal, and the Patient Results Portal help to optimize the experience and improve care for patients receiving screening through MMUs. And when it comes to breast imaging workflow, the freedom provided by MagView’s TechPad™ will make it your MMU technologists’ new best friend.

Text Messaging

Research indicates a need for better communication with patients receiving care through MMUs. As one study put it, “Providing patient navigation and appointment reminders may help promote attendance at mobile mammography clinics.”

Fortunately, when it comes to making consistent connections with patients, MagView has you covered. We know that sending text reminders is a friendly and popular way to give a patient a nudge about the need to schedule an appointment or return for a follow-up visit. That’s why our Text Message Module allows you to send customized, automated reminders that can help patients stay on track for annual mammograms and follow-up appointments. 

As a result, patients get the care they need, MMUs reduce the headaches of no-shows, and breast centers save time by eliminating the need to send reminder letters.

Patient History Portal

Another great time saver is MagView’s Patient History Portal, which gives patients the ability to fill out their history before arriving for their exam. Breast history forms can be lengthy, and patients usually spend a lot of time prior to the exam filling them out. 

Since mobile mammography units have limited physical space, that might mean creating a line of patients waiting outside the door. And depending on the weather, those patients may decide to head back to their cars rather than sit through inclement conditions. Plus, when patients fill out their histories during the visit, they may not have all the needed information available. 

The good news is that our secure, HIPAA-compliant Patient History Portal offers a convenient way for patients to complete their “paperwork” prior to the visit when they’ll have everything at their fingertips.

The result? Reduced exam-waiting time, a more efficient check-in process, and care that’s based on the information breast centers need.

Patient Results Portal

Creating a better patient experience includes empowering patients within the process. One of the most important ways you can do so is by providing immediate access to test results. 

Instead of expecting a patient to wait anxiously by the mailbox, you can offer the option to receive email notification when results are ready—with a link to our HIPAA-compliant Patient Results Portal where a patient can access her lay letter electronically. If your facility has a patient portal, our e-letters extension offers the same capability from within your existing portal.

In addition to helping patients, your center benefits by reducing the costs and burdens of preparing paper letters to send them through the mail.

Techpad

Talk about mobile! With MagView’s TechPadTM, technicians can be untethered from a workstation and take MagView with them wherever the patient is—even if it’s just to the other side of the MMU. 

Thanks to TechPad, techs can perform the exam, verify history, fill out breast diagrams, create notes, and see instant feedback from the radiologist so they’ll know if a second exam is needed or a view repeated—all while remaining with the patient. Even better, Techpad allows for much more patient interaction, decreasing their anxiety during the exam. 

Plus, since patient status is immediately updated and clearly displayed on the customizable worklist, there’s less waiting time—which equates to increased patient intake, a potential for more revenue, and a better overall experience for patients. 

Find a Mobile Mammography Workflow Solution You Can Trust

If you’d like to learn more about how MagView can help support your mobile mammography program, contact us today.