O n September 24-25, 1990, The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health held its first national workshop on a significant issue to the health of women-reduc ing mortality from breast cancer through increased use of screening mammography. A group of experts representing a variety of interested specialties gathered in Washington, DC, for 2 days, following through on decisions of a planning group that had met several months earlier. The meeting fulfilled one of the key functions of The Jacobs Institute, to conduct workshops and research conferences that bring together health care providers, social scientists, and others for dialogue and to develop recommendations on priority problems. In 1990, breast cancer claimed the lives of an estimated 44,000 American women and an estimated 150,000 new cases will have occurred. 1 Estimates are that if women followed screening mammography guidelines, breast cancer deaths would decline by at least 30%.2 Because this estimate was derived from the days of using older generations of radiographic equipment, it's likely that the present-day decrease in breast cancer mortality would be even higher. With support from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control, the workshop was convened to consider strategies for increasing patient and physician compliance with guidelines for timing and frequency of mammography examinations. In June 1989, 11 medical organizations had announced consensus guidelines that state the screening process should begin by age 40 and consist of annual clinical examination with screening mammography performed at 1to 2-year intervals. Beginning at age 50, both clinical examination and mammography should be performed on an annual basis. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) endorsed similar guidelines in an April 1989 task force report on cancer screening. 3 Recent studies confirm that only a minority of physicians and patients currently comply with the consensus guidelines. In September 1990, The Jacobs Institute and the National Cancer Institute released the results of a survey of women aged 40 and older that showed an increase to 64% in the number of women who have had at least one mammogram, up from 37% in 1987 (National Health Interview Survey, 1987). 4 Still, only 31% of the women surveyed are following recommended guidelines that call for regular mammograms to begin when a woman reaches age 40. Current physician knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to © 1991 by The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health 1049-3867/91/$3.50