Introduction:

In Argentina, breast cancer is the one with the highest incidence in women. Mammography is a secondary prevention method that allows early detection and improves the prospects of cure.

Objective:

To determine if an increase in the effective demand for mammographies requires increasing the supply of equipment, or if it can be satisfied by improving the efficiency of its use.

Methods:

Evaluative research conducted from 2010 to 2012. Women without medical coverage who are residents in Sanitary Region I of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) were the ones included in the study. The potential demand for mammograms was estimated using two alternative clinical protocols. In order to estimate the relative efficiency of the public mammography devices of Sanitary Region I, Data Envelopment Analysis was used, through a basic input-oriented model. Firstly, it was assumed the existence of constant outputs to scale and then considering the existence of unsettled outputs. In each case, the relative efficiency coefficients and the slacks of the input and output variables were calculated.

Results:

Given the number of mammographies actually carried out, in no case the total potential demand was covered. In 2012, only one of the eight mammography devices in this region operated under full efficiency conditions (technical and scale).

Conclusions:

If efficiency increases, it would be possible to increase the number of mammographies performed with available resources, and to cover the potential demand of women without medical coverage in the Sanitary Region I.

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