Gone are the days of the OB-GYN physicians treating their female patients and considering it a good day's effort to have simply delivered high quality medical care to a trusting individual. Such a view ignores the underlying importance of the event, and fails to recognize the full significance of the relationship. To fully appreciate a newer, fuller view of this medical event is to begin to understand the overwhelming influence of women on the business of healthcare, including marketing, pricing, product development, and service delivery.

The New View of Women's Care
Break down the component pieces of the old view and the full potential of a new view begins to emerge.

On one side of the old view equation, the physician operates under a professional ethic demanding that he/she act in the best interest of the person seeking counsel and treatment. Such trust is implicit in the relationship; hence, the willingness to disclose to one's physician things not easily told to anyone else. The confidence built into the relationship is foundational, and inseparable from the experience of the healing art.

On the other side of the old view equation is the female patient. Consider the following highlights about women:

•	They are the decision-makers for approximately 75% of America's healthcare dollars.
•	They spend from $.70 - $.80 of every drug dollar.
•	They represent 60% of all physician visits.
•	They are more likely than the husband to choose a health plan."(A)
•	They make 70% - 90% of all health care decisions for themselves and their families.
•	After age 14 they visit a doctor 25% more frequently than men.
•	They are hospitalized 15% more frequently than men.
•	Women consume 60% of all health care services.
•	They represent 60% of all Medicare participants and 75% of nursing home residents.
•	Women-only operations account for 11 of the top 20 most frequently performed surgeries.
•	Pregnancy and maternity care are the largest expense categories in most health plans, representing over 20% of total costs.
•	More than 13% of women's health care expenditures go to OB-GYN physicians.
•	Women's health accounts for four of 10 quality and access measures and six of 11 utilization measures for health plans reporting to the National Committee for Quality Assurance."(B)

Women are the clearly dominant force on the consumer side of healthcare. Put the two components of the old equation together and the new view of the women's care medical specialty cries out for acceptance: Physicians are medical professionals in a relationship of implicit trust with exceptionally powerful individuals who influence not only their own healthcare patterns but also those of children and spouses.

Women's care is the hub of healthcare in general, and consequently, considerable attention is being given to the management and growth of this medical specialty. Today approximately 40 physician practice management companies (PPMC) are publicly traded, and roughly 40 similar organizations are waiting for their opportunity to move into the public market. (C) "Of those 40 companies which are waiting, nearly two-thirds are single specialty PPMCs", many of which are oriented toward women. (C) Extant provider groups, including hospital systems and health plans, are likewise focussed on the bellwether that is women's care. What is the attraction of this single specialty, and what might the future hold?

Abstract

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