Patterns of ambulatory care use for gynecologic conditions: A national study

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to describe the site of ambulatory car e visits for gynecologic conditions in the United States and to identify pa tient factors associated with the site of care for these conditions. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a national cross-sectional study using data from the 1995-1996 National Ambulatory Medical Care and National Hospital Ambul atory Medical Care Surveys. Visits to private physician offices, hospital o utpatient departments, and emergency departments were selected if the princ ipal diagnoses were consistent with 1 of 9 gynecologic categories. Multiple logistic regression was used for all diagnoses to identify factors associa ted with visits to emergency departments or hospital-based outpatient depar tments compared with factors associated with visits to private physician of fices. Separate regression models were developed for individual diagnoses t o test the hypothesis that the factors associated with the site of care wou ld vary across different gynecologic conditions. RESULTS: There were 23,194,000 visits for gynecologic conditions during the 2-year study period. Genital dysplasia, ovarian disorders, and uterine dis orders were associated with greater use of hospital outpatient departments and emergency departments compared with physician offices. There was a 30% to 50% reduction in emergency room use for visits by women aged 45 years an d older compared with visits by women aged 18 to 29 years. Emergency depart ment use for several gynecologic conditions was 5 to 8 times greater for vi sits by women with household income <$29,000 than for visits by women with household income <greater than or equal to>$40,000. CONCLUSION: Specific gynecologic diagnoses and patient factors are associat ed with greater use of emergency departments or hospital outpatient departm ents compared with physician offices. The association of these factors with the site of care Varies across different gynecologic conditions.