NPR
by Michelle Andrews

When Allison Matthews was pregnant with her first child four years ago, her obstetrics clinic scheduled frequent appointments to make sure everything was proceeding normally…When she got pregnant again early last summer, the obstetrics practice at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where she is also employed as a clinical services designer, gave her the option of coming in for just eight clinic visits rather than the usual 12 to 14. As part of its OB Nest program for low-risk expectant mothers, she would monitor her weight and track her blood pressure and fetal heart rate at home with equipment provided by the clinic. If she had abnormal results or any questions or concerns, she could contact her nurse online or by phone.

Reach: The NPR Shots Blog covers news about health and medicine. It is written and reported by NPR’s Science Desk. NPR serves a growing audience of more than 34.6 million Americans each week in partnership with more than 849 independently operated, non-commercial public radio stations. NPR also produces content worldwide for satellite radio, the Internet and podcasting.

MinnPost, Online physician reviews are at odds with patient-satisfaction surveys, Mayo study finds by Susan Perry — If you’re choosing your doctors based on online patient reviews, you might want to rethink that approach. Doctors who receive online complaints from patients tend not to elicit similar negative assessments in more rigorous patient-satisfaction surveys, according to new research from the Mayo Clinic. “The public needs to be aware of what they’re reading out there,” said Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, the study’s senior author and an internal medicine physician at Mayo, in an interview with MinnPost.

Romper, Women With Low-Risk Pregnancies Could Visit The Doctor Less, Thanks To New Technology by Vanessa Taylor — In 2011, the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology launched an initiative to tackle this problem and now its solution is in practice. Two members of the group, Yvonne Tobah and Abimbola Famuyide, published an article in Harvard Business Review, where they stated the initiative was developed to “transform prenatal care from this medicalized model to an innovative wellness model”.

Kansas City Star, Technology reduces doctor visits for low-risk pregnancies — The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is giving low-risk pregnant women the option of fewer checkups by providing equipment that allows them to monitor their blood pressure, fetal heart rate and other medical conditions at home. Women involved in the OB Nest program have eight clinic visits, Minnesota Public Radio reported . The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the standard pregnancy visit schedule entails more than a dozen appointments.

KIMT, Program is the "future of prenatal care" by Jon Bendickson — The OB Nest Program at Mayo Clinic looks to make pregnancy less stressful on expectant mothers.

KIMT, Program the "Future of prenatal care" by Jeremiah Wilcox — KIMT News 3’s Jeremiah Wilcox spoke to doctors and a recent patient in the OB Nest program. Eman Darby said she was stressed going to her appointments thinking about her friend. Darby said during one appointment, the nurse told her about the OB Nest program. the program is designed to provide prenatal care for low risk expectant mothers. the big plus for patients is that the number of in-office doctors visits is cut in half. The program gives you an at home ultra sound kit and a device to monitor your blood pressure.

Additional coverage: Washington Post, News-medical.net, MedCity News, Coeur d’Alene Press, Benefits Pro, MPR, Fierce Healthcare, MobiHealthNews, HealthLeaders Media, News-medical.net, Healthcare Analytics News, DOTmed.com, Becker’s Hospital Review, KMSP, Fairmont Sentinel, Albert Lea Tribune, WJON News, Seattle Times, Week Facts, 10TV

Context: “OB Nest”: Just the name may bring warm feelings to parents and prospective parents. However, at Mayo Clinic, it’s much more than a name. It’s a new way that Mayo Clinic is providing prenatal care. And, families say they are thrilled with the process. Current prenatal care for a pregnancy consists of 12-14 visits with an obstetrician. However, often these visits are just brief check-ins to make sure a pregnancy is progressing well. Previous research has looked at ways to give providers more time for high-risk patients, and save time and office visits for women with low-risk pregnancies. While these studies have shown that less visits are safe, patients reported less satisfaction overall. You can read more on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact:  Elizabeth Zimmerman

Tags: Dr. Yvonne Butler Tobah, NPR, OB Nest, pregnancy, Uncategorized