High risk pregnancy is a very common term used by doctors in Miami during conversations with pregnant patients. Often time, physicians over utilize the term and in turn may cause unnecessary stress and concern. The term can be loosely applied to so many conditions that you can almost diagnose anybody as “high risk”. The reality is that “high risk pregnancy” has far more value as a medical coding term for insurance companies than it does for a physician.
Instead of “high risk”, I believe patients need to understand the proper term for their diagnosis and what are the medical implications of the diagnosis. There is no denying that patients are more and more educated on medical conditions and they deserve clear guidance on their medical condition.
As physicians, we have an obligation to communicate with patients and be prepared to answer questions in a way that patients may understand. When a patient understands the actual medical condition, they are more likely to make better treatment decisions and more likely to be compliant with their care plan. This has been our philosophy at Bayshore Womens Healthcare, and our patients agree.
In this series of posts, let’s talk about some common “high risk” pregnancy conditions and what they mean. The goal is a general orientation, and in no way will serve as a substitute for medical evaluation and management by one of our Board Certified OB/GYN physicians.
Feel free to post questions and comments
Dr Cardenas