It can be very difficult to decipher between what we should and should not do with our healthcare these days. Guidelines and recommendations are constantly changing in medicine and leading to a lot of confusion for everyone.
Over the past 3 years there has been a lot of discussion on when and how often pap smears should be performed. Current recommendations are to start pap smears at age 21. Frequency of screening is based on personal history and results.
Now there are reports on the Today Show on 7/1/14 and online stating the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that routine pelvic exams are not necessary in “asymptomatic, average risk, non-pregnant women”. The pelvic exam they are referring to is the bi-manual exam in which a female’s pelvic organs are palpated to assess normal size and mobility.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) does NOT support this new recommendation from ACP. The bi-manual exam is helpful in identifying health concerns such as incontinence, both urinary and fecal, sexual dysfunction, organ prolapse and polyps, to name a few. Pelvic exams are still to be performed on an annual basis during the Well Woman Exam and insurance covers this exam at 100% for most all patients as a preventative medicine appointment. ACOG does state that although their guidelines recommend to perform the pelvic exam on an annual basis, this should be a discussion between the patient and provider to determine necessity based on individual needs, preferences and requests.
One of the biggest concerns with the ACP guidelines is that many women do not see a General Practitioner or Internal Medicine doctor on a regular basis. Their OB/GYN appointment is often the only exam that women get on an annual basis for health promotion and disease prevention. If women are only following the ACP guidelines then they are likely not going to come in for routine visits at all. It becomes very confusion for women to understand how often exams should be performed. If you have any questions regarding what type of exam is necessary for you just follow this one simple recommendation… you should have an annual exam with your OB/GYN where a discussion about what evaluation, tests, labs, and treatments are appropriate for you as an individual.
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JUL