North Carolina § 130A-215 - 5. Communication of mammographic breast density information to patients.

§ 130A-215. 5. Communication of mammographic breast density information to patients.

All health care facilities that perform mammography examinations shall include in the summary of the mammography report, required by federal law to be provided to a patient, information that identifies the patient's individual breast density classification based on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System established by the American College of Radiology. If the facility determines that a patient has heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts, the summary of the mammography report shall include the following notice: Patients who receive diagnostic or screening mammograms may be directed to informative material about breast density. This informative material may include the American College of Radiology's most current brochure on the subject of breast density. "Your mammogram indicates that you may have dense breast tissue. Dense breast tissue is relatively common and is found in more than forty percent (40%) of women. The presence of dense tissue may make it more difficult to detect abnormalities in the breast and may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. We are providing this information to raise your awareness of this important factor and to encourage you to talk with your physician about this and other breast cancer risk factors. Together, you can decide which screening options are right for you. A report of your results was sent to your physician." History (2013-321, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-321, s. 3, made this section effective January 1, 2014.