Urinary Incontinence Care in the Academic and Safety-Net Primary Care Settings: Opportunities to Improve Quality of Care

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo compare the quality of urinary incontinence care for women in the safety-net and non-safety-net settings prior to referral to a specialist. METHODSWe performed a retrospective review of 200 women from two non-safety-net hospitals and 188 women from two safety-net hospitals who were referred to Urogynecology and Reconstructive Surgery specialists for bothersome UI between March 2017 and March 2020. We evaluated the care that women received 12-months prior to referral, by measuring adherence to a set of previously developed quality indicators (QIs), for example the performance of a urinalysis or pelvic exam. RESULTSWomen seen in safety-net hospitals were more likely to receive QI-compliant care than women in the non-safety-net hospitals prior to referral, with 55.53% of appropriate care given in the safety-net vs. 40.3% in the non-safety-net setting (p<0.01). Clinicians in the safety-net hospitals were more likely to adhere to QIs in patients with general, stress, and urgency incontinence. CONCLUSIONSWomen were more likely to receive timely, quality-based UI care in the safety net compared to the non-safety-net setting. This may be in part due to aspects unique to the safety-net system, including an eConsult referral system, which guides referring clinicians in appropriate management steps that should be taken prior to the specialist visit, as well as women’s health focused primary care clinics.