Insights into the physician's role in mammography utilization among older women

Women who receive routine medical care and those who see obstetrician-gynecologists are more likely to get mammograms. However, fewer women see these physicians as they grow older. Results indicate that, as a group, older women see a different mixture of physicians, and the drop in mammography referrals due to obstetrician-gynecologist office visit decline is not replaced by compensating referral patterns from other physician groups. All physicians should recommend mammograms to all of their older female patients; opportunities for doing so exist if they broaden their view of when such recommendations are appropriate. It is particularly important for nongynecologists to remember that their older patients may no longer see a gynecologist and will not receive a mammography recommendation from anyone else.