Number of women seeing obstetrician-gynecologists drops

(HealthDay)—The percentage of women who visit an obstetrician-gynecologist has declined since 2000, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Alan E. Simon, M.D., and Sayeedha F.G. Uddin, M.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., used data from the 2000-2015 National Health Interview Surveys to identify the percentage of U.S. women who had visited an ob-gyn and the percentage who had visited a general physician during the preceding 12 months.

The researchers found that the adjusted percentage of U.S. women who saw a general physician during the preceding 12 months did not significantly change from 2000 to 2015, ranging from 70.1 percent in 2007 to 74.2 percent in 2003 (P > 0.05 for trend). The adjusted percentage who saw an ob-gyn in the preceding 12 months did not change from 2000 to 2003 or 2007 to 2011 (P > 0.05), but it declined from 45 percent to 41.2 percent between 2003 and 2007 and from 41.8 percent to 38.4 percent between 2011 and 2015 (P < 0.001 for trends). The adjusted percentage of women who saw both an ob-gyn and a general physician was 32.4 percent in 2000, growing to 35.2 percent in 2003 but then declining to 29.8 percent in 2015 (P < 0.001 for trend).

"To assure high-quality and coordinated care, physicians should identify whether women see both health care provider types or only one to help assure that all recommended services are being offered," conclude the authors.