Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2014 Volume 142, Issue 1-2, Pages: 59-66
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1402059M
Full text ( 970 KB)
Assessment of required resources for implementation of national breast cancer screening program in Serbia
Majstorović Nemanja (Republic Fund of Health Insurance, Belgrade)
Simić Snežana (Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Matejić Bojana (Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Čudanov Mladen (Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Belgrade)
Introduction. High values of standardized mortality and morbidity rates of
standardized cancer mortality in Serbia, especially colorectal, cervical and
breast cancer led to creation of national programs for their early detection
and engagement of the international support for their implementation.
Objective. Assessment of required resources (time, personnel, financial) to
implement the National program for screening of breast cancer in the Republic
of Serbia. Methods. Three possible scenarios have been prepared (optimistic,
realistic and pessimistic) based on the expected coverage by screening of
women aged 45 to 69 years, and time, personnel and financial feasibility
estimates were made for a two-year screening cycle. Results. Time aspect of
feasibility even under conditions of “relaxation” of the assumption on the
number of working days during the year did not question feasibility of any of
the scenarios. Personnel feasibility is only possible in the pessimistic
scenario, while the financial feasibility only makes sense in optimistic
scenario as the least unfavorable solution due to economies of scale.
Conclusion. Establishment of the initial base of skilled radiologists and
radiology technicians and the system for their continuous medical education
as well as allocation of specific MoH budget line for screening program
expenditures, along with donated mammographs and good organization and
coordination, may provide unobstructed implementation of the National program
for early detection of breast cancer in the Republic of Serbia.
Keywords: breast cancer screening, resources, possible scenarios, Republic of Serbia