The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) has given the green light this Friday to the order project that extends the population screening program for breast cancer to all women between 45 and 74 years old.
As noted by the Ministry of Health, this decision is part of an update of the common portfolio of the SNS that also incorporates improvements in the financing of intraocular lenses and mobility support products, as well as new composition criteria for certain dietary products included in the provision.
In relation to breast cancer, the project adds the age groups of 45 to 49 years and 70 to 74 years to the age range already contemplated in the common portfolio, currently set between 50 and 69 years. The screening technique will continue to be mammography, with a general interval of two years between tests.
The expansion, aligned with European recommendations, will be deployed gradually. The text establishes that all autonomous communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in coordination with INGESA and the civil servant mutual societies, must have started the adaptation of the program within three years after the order comes into force. Within a period of six years, coverage, understood as the invitation to participate, must approach 100% in the new age groups.
In order to guarantee the quality of the program, the incorporation of the new age groups may be done gradually by age. During this initial phase, an interval of up to three years between mammograms will be allowed for these groups, which will be reduced to two years once the implementation is complete. The specific planning will be adjusted to the resources available in each territory.
Update of the orthoprosthetic provision
Along with the expansion of breast cancer screening, the order reviews the orthoprosthetic provision to better suit the needs of patients and promote more uniform access throughout the SNS.
Among the new features is the expansion of coverage for standard toric monofocal intraocular lenses, used to replace the lens in certain pathologies. The range of financed corneal astigmatism is modified and changes from between 3 and 5 diopters to between 1.5 and 5 diopters, always after a prior topographic study.
Likewise, the catalog of standing devices is increased, which allow maintaining an upright position, and of tiltable planes, both for children and for adults. The former go from two to eleven types of products, while the latter expand from one to four, incorporating manual and electric variants.
Health emphasizes that the expansion of the catalog will improve access to these devices for people with severe mobility limitations, such as those associated with spinal cord injuries or cerebral palsy. More alternatives are contemplated for children and adults, with functionalities that facilitate adjusting the posture to their specific requirements.
Changes in nutritional preparations and prenatal screening
The order also reviews the requirements for certain nutritional preparations financed by the SNS, aimed at patients who cannot meet their needs through the usual diet. According to the department, the modifications will allow optimizing their texture and flavor to make their consumption easier. Companies will have twelve months from the entry into force of the regulation to adapt the included products.
In addition, the prenatal screening program for infectious diseases will be renamed the prenatal screening program for transmissible diseases. This is a change of name that keeps the content and scope of the program intact.