Latest news with #ObGyn
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Capital Women's Care Announce Multi-Year Contract
RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia announced today a new, multi-year provider network agreement with Capital Women's Care, a large group of over 275 Obstetrician-Gynecologist providers. The agreement ensures long-term access to affordable healthcare for Capital Women's Care patients covered by Anthem health plans. 'By extending our strong partnership with Capital Women's Care, we are continuing to provide compassionate healthcare to women in a safe and professional environment,' said Monica Schmude, President of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia. Share As part of the agreement, the two organizations will continue their health care collaboration through 2028, providing access to quality care, ensuring more than 13,000 patients have continued access to their women's healthcare provider. As the premier center for women's healthcare in the mid-Atlantic region, Capital Women's Care is dedicated to giving comprehensive, compassionate care to all women. 'Our provider partnerships are vital to helping us achieve high-quality, results-driven healthcare,' said Monica Schmude, President of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia. 'By extending our strong partnership with Capital Women's Care, we are continuing to provide compassionate healthcare to women in a safe and professional environment.' 'Through this new multi-year agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, we ensure that our patients can access exceptional healthcare while staying mindful of the costs,' said Damon Hou, MD, Medical Director of Capital Women's Care and practicing ObGyn. 'We are eager to maintain this collaboration as we serve our community throughout northern Virginia.' About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Anthem Health Plans of Virginia, Inc. trades as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia, and its service area is all of Virginia except for the City of Fairfax, the Town of Vienna, and the area east of State Route 123. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and its affiliate HealthKeepers, Inc. are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Elevance Health. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia is available at Also, follow us at @AnthemBCBS on X, on Facebook at and at LinkedIn on LinkedIn. About Capital Women's Care Capital Women's Care started in 1998 and is now the largest ObGyn practice in the region with over 75 locations and more than 275 providers throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Capital Women's Care is dedicated to giving comprehensive, compassionate, high-quality care to all women.
Medscape
21-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
ACOG 2025
May 16 - 18, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota Medscape Ob/Gyn© WebMD, LLC Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Medscape
19-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Virtual Reality Enhances Ob/Gyn Patients' Comfort
MINNEAPOLIS — Virtual reality (VR) was associated with significant reduction in pain and anxiety in Ob/Gyn settings, according to a systematic review presented at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 2025 Annual Meeting. 'Women's pain has historically been under-recognized and undertreated in clinical settings, including in obstetrics and gynecology,' said lead and presenting author Surina Khurana, a medical student at the University of California, Irvine, in an interview. 'With VR emerging as a promising tool for pain and anxiety management in other fields, we saw an important opportunity to explore its potential in Ob/Gyn care,' she said. 'As VR technology becomes more accessible, understanding how it can be integrated into routine practice is critical,' Khurana added. Khurana and colleagues identified 34 studies published between 2013 and 2024 on the use of VR to alleviate pain and anxiety in Ob/Gyn. Approximately one third (35%) of the studies involved the use of VR in labor; the second most common use was hysteroscopy (18%). Overall, 78% of studies in which pain was an outcome measure showed significant reductions in pain among patients who experienced VR compared with control groups. Similarly, 71% of studies in which anxiety was an outcome measure showed significant reductions in anxiety with VR vs control groups. 'One of the striking findings was the rapid growth in research on this topic in recent years,' Khurana told Medscape Medical News . 'Although our review covered studies published between 2013 and 2024, nearly all the studies were published in 2020 or later,' she said. The sharp uptick highlights the growing interest in using VR as a non-pharmacologic tool for pain and anxiety management, potentially spurred by early success in other specialties, as well as an increasing focus on patient experience, said Khurana. The increase also 'reflects a momentum in the field that we hope continues,' she said. Most of the VR experiences used in the studies were designed to calm and distract patients, such as immersive nature scenes or relaxing environments, and were delivered via headsets, said Khurana. 'These tools aim to redirect attention away from the procedure and toward a more soothing sensory experience,' she said. Barriers to widespread implementation of VR in Ob/Gyn include not only the upfront cost of the devices and the need for internet access to download or stream content but also the logistical challenges of incorporating VR into fast-paced clinical workflows, Khurana told Medscape Medical News . 'Overcoming these hurdles will require institutional support, provider training, and clear protocols for integrating VR into patient care,' she said. Limitations and Future Directions 'As a systematic review, one of the primary limitations is the heterogeneity among included studies, which limited our ability to perform a meta-analysis,' said Khurana. However, the review offers valuable insight on the current landscape of VR in Ob/Gyn care, along with trends and research gaps, she said. 'Further research is needed to better assess the effectiveness of VR in the most common office-based procedural settings, such as intrauterine device (IUD) insertions or colposcopies,' said Khurana. 'Additional studies focusing on the pediatric and adolescent gynecology population would also be beneficial, as this group may have unique needs and could particularly benefit from supportive pain management strategies,' she noted. Expanding the View on VR A greater understanding of complementary and alternative pain management options in Ob/Gyn settings remains a critical, unmet need, said Melissa S. Wong, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, in an interview. 'We are beginning to see a real call from patients for better pain management, and finding safe, effective options that can be administered in a clinic or inpatient setting will broaden the tools available to us as clinicians to improve our patients' experience,' said Wong, who was not involved in the study but has published research on the use of VR for women in labor as a pain reduction strategy. 'I was surprised that more studies had not been performed in this space, as virtual reality has been repeatedly demonstrated to be effective in reducing pain and anxiety in other procedural settings,' Wong told Medscape Medical News . Many Ob/Gyn procedures are relatively brief and would be conducive to a quick on-and-off type of intervention such as what is possible with VR, she added. The takeaway from the current study is recognition of multiple settings in which VR has effectively reduced pain or anxiety for patients, she said. Looking ahead, more research is needed to determine which patients may have the greatest benefit from VR, which procedures are most conducive, and even which kinds of VR experiences are most suited to Ob/Gyn settings, Wong said.
