The impact of referral to a primary physician on cervical cancer screening.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether referral to a primary physician led to an increase in screening for cervical cancer among women enrolled in Delaware Medicaid.


METHODS
Medicaid claims data were used to compare annual Papanicolaou (Pap) test rates for women referred to a primary care physician or obstetrician (n = 365) with rates for age-matched comparison women who were not referred (n = 1799).


RESULTS
Thirty-eight percent of referred women and 27% of comparison women underwent Pap tests (adjusted odds ratio = 1.71; 95% confidence interval = 1.33, 2.20).


CONCLUSIONS
Referral to a primary physician had a positive impact on cervical cancer screening among the study participants.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Christiana Care Health Services, 1401 Foulk Rd, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA. jgill@christianacare.org
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JM
Gill
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McClellan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003691:Delaware; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid; D008875:Middle Aged; D009774:Obstetrics; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*