Avoiding misplaced consultations

Obstetrician and gynaecologists (sometimes just called OBGYN) are doctors specialised in the care of women — and sometimes men — in matters of reproductive health.

When women become unwell, there is an almost inevitable predilection to consult an OBGYN.

 This sometimes happens even when the problem is very remote from reproductive health. Even though OBGYNs still retain general medical knowledge, their specialisation means they are best skilled to handle reproductive health issues.

For your pregnancy and delivery, your odds of optimal care are best with an OBGYN. This also applies to the whole range of gynaecological issues that span from menstrual problems, sexual health and gynaecological cancers, to fertility problems.

There are also a whole range of women’s health problems that cross the line between gynaecology and other specialties.

OBGYNs can be your first point of contact in such cases, with subsequent shared care with another specialist.

But there are multiple situations where an OBGYN is not the ideal specialist to consult. Gynaecology clinics are full of misplaced women who would have been better off in other clinics. Granted, some have coincidental gynaecological problems, but others are completely out place either from sheer ignorance or just by default. You need to be clear what your problem is, as misplaced consultations can waste a lot of your time and money. 

We are talking here of obvious cases. If you suspect you have a general infection, like malaria or chest infection, you need to be seeing another specialist. A general practitioner or a physician is your best bet. Their specialisation means that you get the right treatment from the word go. Seeing an OBGYN may delay optimal treatment and sometimes contribute to unwarranted complications.

Back pains are common complaints in gynaecology clinics. But the commonest causes have nothing to do with gynaecological conditions. A general practitioner can easily get to the bottom of the problem, or you could directly consult an orthopaedic surgeon. Equally, pains in the upper abdomen, bleeding from the back passage and dermatological conditions are all remote from what OBGYNs do.

That’s why we have surgeons and dermatologists who are best placed to handle such cases. If you are diabetic or hypertensive, there’s no use seeing your gynaecologist every six months or so for a recheck. You know very well that you should be seeing diabetic physicians or cardiologists.

The list cannot be exhaustive, but you should have gotten the gist by now. If unclear who to consult, the best bet is always a general practitioner who would normally direct you to the right specialist.

But if you end up with an OBGYN with something out of their remit, you should always ask them to refer you to another specialist. In contrast, reserve your reproductive health issues to OBGYNs, not to other unrelated specialists.