Well-Woman Task Force: Components of the Well-Woman Visit

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 includes strong well-woman health care provisions as a means of optimizing preventive health care across a woman's lifetime. In 2013, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists convened a task force of leading professional associations representing women's health clinicians to develop age-specific well-woman health care guidelines with a goal of improving health outcomes. The charge of the Well-Woman Task Force was to provide guidance to women and clinicians with age-appropriate recommendations for a well-woman visit. Evidence-based guidelines, evidence-informed guidelines, and uniform expert agreement formed the foundation for the final recommendations. The resulting list of recommendations, "Components of the Well-Woman Visit," identifies needs across a woman's lifespan and is intended for use by any provider who cares for adolescents or women.