Teen Girls Don't Need Routine Pelvic Exams. Why Are Doctors Doing So Many?
Guidelines around the procedures have changed, but physicians' habits haven't, according to a new study.
An estimated 1.4 million adolescent girls and young women women in the U.S. might have received an unnecessary pelvic exam between 2011 and 2017, according to a new study. And an estimated 1.6 million might have received an unnecessary Pap test. The authors of the study, which was published this week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, say the overuse of these procedures — which can cause false-positives and anxiety — led to an estimated $123 million annually in needless expenses in 2014 alone.
The study was
