This minimally invasive procedure uses ultrasound or mammography images to locate a suspicious lump or nodule in the breast. A thin needle is then inserted to remove a tissue sample. Studies show that this procedure improves productivity and savings.
One study found that a surgical biopsy – in which the tissue is removed through a surgical incision in the breast – costs two-and-a-half to three times more than the image-guided needle core biopsy ($698 vs. $243). That factors-in the costs of the hospital, doctors, nurses, supplies, and even the value of the patient's time away from work.1Click here to view the study
Source: "Core-Needle and Surgical Breast Biopsy: Comparison of Three Methods of Assessing Cost," Burkhardt et al., Radiology, 1999.
In virtually all categories, surgical biopsy costs were higher. Equipment costs were twice as much, supplies a third higher, and provider time more than five times higher than the corresponding costs for the image-guided core needle biopsy.
The average amount of time that patients needed to be away from work was 6.9 hours for core-needle biopsy and 13.9 hours for surgical biopsy. Those who underwent the core-needle procedure were able to return to their normal activities after 24 hours, on average, while those who underwent surgical biopsy were not able to do so for 48 hours.
The study authors noted that if the one million surgical breast biopsies performed annually in the U.S. used the core-needle approach, the total savings could be as much as $1.6 billion every year.
