For Immediate Release
Do Women Still Visit an Ob/Gyn in Their Post-Reproductive Years?
Contact: Jennifer Gatti
914-740-2149
jgatti@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, September 21, 2016—The proportion of women ages 45-64 who rely solely on an obstetrician/gynecologist for their primary care needs is declining, although about 10-20% of the nearly 45,000 women who took part in a recent study still do. A significant number of the women see only a family physician or internist, or visit both an ob/gyn and a generalist, which raises issues of overlap in care and cost effectiveness, as discussed in an article in Journal of Women’s Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women’s Health website until October 21, 2016.
The article entitled "Office Visits for Women Aged 45-64 Years According to Physician Specialties" reports that the percentage of women in their post-reproductive years who only went to a family or internal medicine physician increased from 62% to 72% between 2002 and 2012. Melanie Raffoul, MD and coauthors from the American Academy of Family Physicians, Center for Policy Studies (Washington, DC) and University of New Mexico School of Medicine (Albuquerque) found that racial and ethnic minority women, and those living in poverty, with public or no insurance, and from rural or non-urban areas, were significantly more likely to obtain their healthcare from a family physician.
“While many women rely on an ob/gyn for their healthcare, a large number of women in this age-group see only a generalist, according to these findings. It is important that a woman's primary care provider be trained to deliver comprehensive care,” says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women’s Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women’s Health.
About the Journal
Journal of Women’s Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women’s Health, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women’s healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women’s Health website. Journal of Women’s Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women’s Health and the Society for Women’s Health Research.
About the Academy
Academy of Women’s Health is an interdisciplinary, international association of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who work across the broad field of women’s health, providing its members with up-to-date advances and options in clinical care that will enable the best outcomes for their women patients. The Academy’s focus includes the dissemination of translational research and evidence-based practices for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women across the lifespan. Journal of Women’s Health and the Academy of Women’s Health are co-presenters of Women's Health 2017: The 25th Anniversary Congress which will take place April 28-30, 2017 in Washington, DC.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including LGBT Health, Population Health Management, and Breastfeeding Medicine. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.