Healthy women do not need routine pelvic exams, influential physicians group says [Obamacare Effect]

Washington Post ^ | 7/1/14 | Lenny Bernstein

[SoFloFreeper]

The nation’s second-largest physicians’ organization said Monday that healthy women who are not pregnant do not need routine pelvic exams, a controversial recommendation based on its analysis that, on balance, the manual screening does more harm than good.

The American College of Physicians, which represents 137,000 internal medicine physicians and related specialists, said the diagnostic procedure causes some women discomfort, anxiety, pain and additional medical costs, and may keep some from seeing their doctors. Yet it does little to detect ovarian cancer or other disorders.

[steve86]

Well, we don't usually give colonoscopies to newborns so lifetime risk may not be the best statistic.

According to the CDC, a man 60 (~my age) has a 1.32% risk of developing in the next ten years, 3.08% in 20, 4.39% in 30, if I live that long.

If I live to 90 (my mother is 97 and just starting to fade), I'll save a .44 round for that exigency.

[dangerdoc]

I respect your decision but you are changing the goal posts.

The incidence rate using your stat is 1320/100,000 over the next 10 years changing the benefit to risk ratio greatly.

[LadyDoc]

I agree, especially when young teenagers are exposed to Hpv. But the gov’t doesn’t want to pay for “low yield” procedures. And THAT is the bad news.

[PLMerite]

"gynrcologic"

"Groinocologist."