title: Is the obstetrician-gynecologist a specialist or primary physician to women?
abstract: In an attempt to answer the question, "Is the practicing obstetrician-gynecologist a specialist or a primary physician to women?" 1,008 patients of 51 Michigan obstetrician-gynecologists were asked a series of questions concerning their health care. Forty-four per cent have no primary-care physician and 86 per cent see only their obstetrician-gynecologists for regular periodic examinations. Forty-one per cent reported that their obstetrician-gynecologists either had treated them for nongynecologic conditions or had decided that no treatment was necessary. The training and practice of obstetrician-gynecologists must be altered in view of the role they are assuming--that of primary physician to women.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008875:Middle Aged; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012923:Social Class; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors