What Does Our Tolerance of Poor Management of Patients' Pain Have to Do With Reimbursement Inequity for Office-Based Gynecologic Procedures?

Abstract

Office-based gynecologic procedures (OBGPs) are reimbursed at lower rates than similar office urology and dermatology procedures. But there is a broader "hidden curriculum" in health professions training that perpetuates clinicians' and organizations' acceptance of these patterns of poor reimbursement, disincentivizes research on improving OBGP pain management, and exacerbates tolerance of poor control of patients' OBGP pain. This article suggests strategies for equitable reimbursement that would also likely motivate better, more equitable OBGP pain control.