Where U.S. Women Receive Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Primary Care Medicine
• Women's Health

Background:

• National challenges exist in primary care access for women.
• Some women utilize both general medicine and obstetrics-gynecology (ob/gyn) for primary care.
• The scope and implications of dual primary care sources are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess primary care utilization patterns among US women.
• To identify characteristics of women receiving care from both general medicine and ob/gyn.
• To examine service receipt in women with dual primary care sources.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2012, 2017, 2022).
• Inclusion of non-pregnant women aged 19-85 years.
• Evaluation of visit patterns, usual source of care, and services received.

Main Results:

• In 2022, 20.3% of women had no healthcare visits, and 29.2% lacked a usual source of care.
• 10.4% of women received primary care from both general medicine and ob/gyn specialists.
• Women seeing both specialties were more educated, insured, and had higher rates of potentially low-value testing and screenings.

Conclusions:

• A significant proportion of non-pregnant women lack consistent primary care.
• Dual primary care utilization by 10% of women suggests potential care gaps and redundancies.
• These patterns may exacerbate existing limitations in healthcare access and contribute to health disparities.