Informing the measurement of timely follow-up on inconclusive or abnormal screening mammograms: an environmental scan.

Lack of follow-up to abnormal mammogram screening can contribute to diagnostic delay. This environmental scan finds that society guidelines and existing literature lack a standard definition for timely follow-up after inconclusive or abnormal mammograms. Longer wait times worsened morbidity and mortality outcomes, yet evidence was insufficient to establish an optimal follow-up time frame, requiring discussions with experts to fill this gap. Patients who were non-white, non-English speakers, with lower educational attainment and socioeconomic status, and/or not living in urban settings had a higher risk of missed or delayed follow-up.