Missed Opportunities for Chlamydia Screening of Young Women in the United States

OBJECTIVE: To identify missed opportunities for chlamydia screening in ambulatory care offices. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2005 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to estimate the number of visits to obstetrician-gynecologists and primary care physicians (family and general practitioners, internists, and pediatricians) for preventive care, pelvic examinations, Pap tests, and urinalyses for nonpregnant women aged 15-25 years, and the proportion of these visits at which chlamydia tests were not performed. RESULTS: Obstetrician-gynecologists provided care for nonpregnant women aged 15-25 years at 6.3 million office visits during 2005, and primary care physicians at 20.9 million visits. Although obstetrician-gynecologists conducted only 23.1% of visits made by young women, they conducted 68.8% of visits with pelvic examinations and 71.1% of visits with Pap tests. Primary care physicians conducted 77.5% of visits with urinalyses. Obstetrician-gynecologists did not perform a chlamydia test at 3.2 of 3.8 million (82.1%) visits with pelvic examinations and at 1.8 of 2.3 million (77.3%) visits with Pap tests. Primary care physicians did not perform a chlamydia test at 2.9 of 3.0 million (99.1%) visits with urinalyses. CONCLUSION: There are many missed opportunities for chlamydia testing of young women in ambulatory care visits - during pelvic examinations, Pap tests, and urinalyses. Effective and simple interventions are needed to increase targeted chlamydia screening of women by physicians. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.