Women Opt To Skip Pelvic Exams When Told They Have Little Benefit
OB-GYNs and primary doctors disagree on whether women need a pelvic exam every year. When women were told a medical society recommended against it, they were much less likely to have the exam.
This is a story about conflicting medical advice.
One group of doctors, represented by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, recommends yearly pelvic exams for all women 21 years of age and older, whether they have symptoms of disease or not.
But the American College of Physicians, representing doctors of internal medicine, says that potential harms of the exam outweigh benefits against performing pelvic examinations unless a woman is pregnant or has symptoms of disease such as bleeding, pain or signs of infection.
