A federal advisory panel with an odd name helps doctors evaluate which patients should get screening tests and when they should get them. This is the task of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Yes, the name is U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Preventive, not preventative. You likely will get that question from your editors unless they are savvy about health policy.
USPSTF’s recommendations hold a lot of clout. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 mandated that private insurers cover services that get top marks — “A” or “B” grades — from the USPSFT, and that they do so without charging a copay.
Both the “A” and “B” grades show the task force is confident or fairly confident the expected benefits of a screening service exceed its risk, as explained by the task force on its website.
A “C” grade from the task force means that a service should be selectively offered, given that there is at least moderate certainty that the net benefit is small.
A “D” grade means the USPSTF recommends against use of a service, due to concerns that there is no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits. Sometimes the USPSTF issues an “I” grade meaning that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the service.
The USPSTF posts a lot of material on its website explaining both its recommendations and how it reaches them. The task force, for example, in May 2022 reaffirmed its “D” grade for screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in asymptomatic adults.
As of May 2022, the task force was in the midst of an update of what’s long been its most high-profile work, its recommendation about how often women need mammograms and which age groups should get them.