Rate of Prophylaxis Oophorectomy and Associated Factors at the Time of Hysterectomy in Premenopausal Women with Benign Diseases

Objective: To determine the rate of oophorectomy and associated factors at the time of hysterectomy in premenopausal women with benign diseases. Materials and Methods: The medical records of the premenopausal women that underwent hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy due to benign gynecologic conditions between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2017 at Khon Kaen University Hospital (Thailand) were retrospectively reviewed. The data collected included age, BMI, parity, indication for surgery, family history of carcinoma, route of hysterectomy, procedure, specialization of the surgeon, operative notes, and histopathological reports of the ovaries. Results: Six hundred thirty-eight subjects underwent hysterectomy due to benign gynecologic conditions. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) was performed in 57.37% (366) of the cases. In 81.97% (300) of these cases, either one or both patient’s ovaries were grossly normal. The rate of prophylactic oophorectomy among all cases was 47.02% (300 in 638). The strongest associated factor with BSO was age (odds ratio 8.421, 95% CI 5.488 to 12.921). Other associated factors were irregular menstrual history, the surgeon being a gynecologic oncologist, and abdominal hysterectomy. No cases of ovarian cancer were found. Conclusion: Nearly half of premenopausal women that underwent hysterectomy due to benign conditions underwent prophylactic oophorectomy. Associated factors were age, irregular menstruation, the surgeon being a gynecologic oncologist, and abdominal hysterectomy. Keywords: Hysterectomy, Premenopausal women, Prophylactic oophorectomy

Access to Gynecologic Oncologists in Ohio: The Role of Insurance Marketplaces and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Background The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, which provided a platform for states to develop insurance marketplaces. The goal of this legislation was to improve insurance coverage by providing more affordable options to patients. One metric of the Affordable Care Act was to improve access to comprehensive cancer care. Objective To identify to the effect of the Affordable Care Act on access to Gynecologic Oncologists in Ohio. Study design The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act increased access to health insurance in Ohio, through Medicaid expansion and creation of a healthcare marketplace. We accessed information on access and usage of the healthcare marketplace in Ohio through Healthinsurance.org. We identified Gynecologic Oncology practices in Ohio through the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and confirmed these practices by telephone. We communicated with each practice and identified which practices took marketplace health insurance. We also gathered information on changes in usage from 2014-2018. We then used descriptive statistics to identify access to a Gynecologic Oncologist though these exchanges. Results In 2017, there were 238,843 people enrolled in marketplace insurance (2% of the Ohio population). We identified 11 practices in Ohio with 39 Gynecologic Oncologists, and 11 marketplace insurance providers. Of these insurers, 7 could be clearly identified as providing access to 5 different Gynecologic Oncology practices. Of the 11 practices, 5 were confirmed to accept marketplace insurance (46%). Interestingly, 3 practices were unsure whether they took patients on marketplace insurance (27%), and 3 definitively did not take patients on marketplace insurance (27%). Each practice varied with how many exchanges they accepted, with 4 out of 5 accepting insurance through more than one insurer. Conclusions About half of the Gynecologic Oncology practices in Ohio accepted insurance through the insurance marketplace, which may limit patient access to a Gynecologic Oncologist.