Rethinking the Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Consult: Creating a Patient-Centered, See-and-Treat Model of Care.

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AI-generated summary by claude@2026-08, 2026-08-01

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid adaptations, leading to a redesigned, patient-centered AUB evaluation model involving fewer visits and maximized patient experience and efficiency, which is proposed for permanent nationwide adoption.

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Abstract

Historically, the evaluation of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) has involved a multi-visit process that uses a multitude of care settings (eg, in-office, imaging, laboratory), with the potential for lengthy delays in care due to the now-commonplace scheduling difficulties many clinics face. Although there is strong evidence for the use of in-office uterine assessment as a best practice, uptake has been limited by the learning curve, technology acquisition costs, and other factors. However, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, clinical practice has faced rapid adaptations that have resulted in the redesigned clinical care model of evaluating this common gynecologic condition in a more patient-centered and streamlined way while maximizing the patient experience, health care efficiency, and physician engagement. This procedure would specifically involve one telehealth or initial visit to assess patient history, perform necessary laboratory testing, review results, and plan outpatient procedures to be conducted in the office or the operating room. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clinics have, by necessity, implemented this proposed reimagined pathway in a variety of outpatient settings nationally. We propose that, moving forward, this new procedure be permanently adopted in clinics nationwide as the patient-focused evaluation strategy for AUB.
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Conclusion

Moving from the multi-visit, several-week evaluations to a patient-centered, technology-enabled approach to the AUB evaluation allows for improved efficiency for all stakeholders—patients, health care professionals, and the health care system—with the potential to improve patient and physician satisfaction. In addition, it allows for more appropriate use of limited health care resources. The potential for fewer visits simplifies the clinical care pathway for the patient: Scheduling, time off, child care, and travel expenses are all decreased with the incorporation of telehealth into the evaluation pathway. By providing evaluation of the uterine cavity in the office, higher level of care resources maybe allocated for more complex procedures when indicated. As several studies have shown, office hysteroscopy with standard 5-French scopes is feasible and reasonable with a 93–94% success rate. 15 , 16 When failures occur, it is typically due to pain or stenosis, which often can be predicted based on discussions and examination. Vaginoscopy and instrument-free approaches have been adopted to decrease discomfort, but no set medication regimen has been found to be preferred. Adaptation of our traditional clinical care pathways 17 allows us to assess and treat patients with AUB more efficiently. In a world evolving into quality metrics, improved patient satisfaction with less time to treatment, improved clinician office efficiency with fewer appointments per patient chief symptom, and optimized and appropriate resource allocation are going to be the keys to success. 1 , 18

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last seen: 2026-08-04T06:16:37.499272+00:00
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License: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0