Chaperone use in primary care

Abstract

Two recently published surveys showed that a significant number of male adolescent medicine specialists performed unchaperoned pelvic examinations. Since this is a surprising finding, primary care physicians in Mississippi were surveyed to assess their use of chaperones during patient examinations. The survey found that male physicians typically did use chaperones for pelvic examinations. The frequency of chaperone use among male physicians when performing pelvic examinations did not vary by physician specialty. There was considerable variability in chaperone use by female physicians for both male and female patients.