title: The future of obstetrics/gynecology in 2020: a clearer vision. Why is change needed?
abstract: External and internal pressures are causing rapid changes to the delivery of health care that markedly will influence the practice of obstetrics and gynecology. These changes can be divided into broad categories: (1) Burden of the high cost of current health care on society; (2) demographic changes in women that include aging, obesity, diversity, and chronic medical conditions; and (3) workforce changes that include growing provider shortages, inexperience, and desires for improved lifestyles. The combination of these factors has brought health care to a strategic inflection point where current practice methods will lead to an inability to meet the demand for health care because of increasing volume while simultaneously controlling costs and improving quality. This necessitates providing women's health care in a redesigned fashion for it to flourish in the new world of medicine.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Care Health System and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Fountain Valley, CA.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Lagrew
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Todd R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States