Doctors from Novant Health-Bradford Clinic, Charlotte’s oldest OB/GYN clinic, announced today its disagreement of the controversial new guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) stating that annual pelvic exams for women who do not have cancer symptoms and are not pregnant may be unnecessary.

The guidelines were published on June 30, 2014 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and suggest that the procedure does not detect disease as well as previously thought, does not reduce mortality, and results in unnecessary testing and anxiety for patients.

Novant Health-Bradford Clinic physicians stated they join with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) who responded to the new ACP guidelines by renewing their firm belief that there is immense clinical value for pelvic examinations as part of annual well woman visits in women 21 and older.

“During well woman visits, patients are often discovered to have a variety of maladies including cervical polyps or even undiagnosed malignant or premalignant melanomas or other skin lesions,” said Navin Bhojwani, M.D., of the Novant Health-Bradford Clinic. “These patients often do not report any symptoms in the history taken before their examinations and then clinically relevant observations often present during routine pelvic examinations.”

Raleigh Godsey, M.D. of the Novant Health-Bradford Clinic also expressed concern that some may use the ACP guideline to discourage the annual gynecologic exam stating, “The routine gynecologic exam is much more than a pelvic exam and a very important procedure in maintaining women’s health. We find the majority of patients continue to find a normal pelvic exam reassuring.”

About Novant Health Bradford Clinic:

Novant Health Bradford Clinic is Charlotte’s oldest OB/GYN practice having first opened their doors in 1936. With offices in Charlotte, Ballantyne and Mathews, the clinic serves women of all ages in Mecklenburg County and the greater Charlotte area. Specializing in high-risk pregnancies and da Vinci Surgery (robot assisted), the Bradford Clinic doctors and nurses pride themselves on staying current with the latest practices, procedures and technology for delivering quality obstetric and gynecologic care for the life of their patients. For more information, visit www.nhbradfordclinicobgyn.org.