Changing medical guidelines for pap smear testing, the common way to screen for cervical cancer, has created confusion among women and health care providers.
Recommendations now say most women should be tested every three or five years, rather than annually, depending on an individual’s status and age.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, part of the Department of Health and Human Services state women age 21 to 29 need a pap smear every three years, those 30-65 every five years, and those 65 and older aren’t recommended for tests at all.
Perhaps the most surprising recommendation applies to women under 21, who are not to be tested at all, despite their sexual history.
The American Cancer Society says the changes took place because “it normally takes 10 to 20 years for cervical cancer to develop and overly frequent screening could lead to procedures that are not needed.” It is also said that annual testing could bring false-positives, creating unnecessary stress.
The Epidemiology and Applied Research branch of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, as apart of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found less than 1 percent of cervical cancer cases were women age 20 and younger.
With these changes in effect, some medical insurance providers will no longer cover annual testing, causing some to seek alternative medical attention for cheaper care.
“Nobody wants to have to get unnecessary tests because it’s expensive but it has forced us to think about how we can adjust,” said Tammy Lieber, director of communications at Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK).
“One of the things we offer if one does have an abnormal pap test are diagnostics and colonoscopy at some of our health centers, which could be very helpful especially to those that don’t have health insurance.”
Along with pap testing and counseling, basic services are also offered such as family planning, STD testing and HPV vaccines.
Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of PPINK said the newest pap testing guidelines have impacted patient traffic, however she hopes the center can be a low cost alternative.
“There was 14 percent decline in the number of Pap tests provided in 2014 compared to 2013 – in 2014 we did 6,113 pap tests,” said Cockrum. “We are generally more affordable than other providers.”
Seven of 25 centers receive federal funding, called Title X, for family planning and in those centers sliding scale fees are offered but all centers accept Medicaid and insurance. Discounts are usually applied at the time of service but a women’s health fund can be applied to assist with payment.
“We pride ourselves on having a highly trained and qualified staff,” commented Lieber. “We like to believe our staff has more training and expertise in family planning than anywhere else because it is what we do.”
“Education is critical,” added Cockrum. “Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, through Pap tests that detect abnormal cervical cells, and through the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects women against HPV, the main cause of cervical cancer. PPINK’s new patient experience initiative seeks to continually engage our patients between visits to encourage them to remain mindful of their health, and to utilize PPINK as their health information resource.”
