The Role of Personalized Care in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Personalized care is a growing, billion-dollar industry.¹ According to one estimate, the global personalized medicine market is expected to be worth more than $1.2bn by 2033.² In England alone, the National Health Service estimates that personalized care will benefit up to 2.5 million people by 2024.³
The reasons behind this growth are easy to see. Personalized care is tailored to an individual patient’s needs, meaning they are better informed and have greater choice when it comes to their treatment options. Effective personalized care can result in better patient outcomes, greater health equity, and more efficient use of health services.⁴
Obstetrics and gynecology are no exception. Personalized care—from patient-generated data to new technologies—can mean earlier diagnoses, specialized treatments, and patient empowerment. 
Read on to find out more about personalized care in obstetrics and gynecology — and how it’s benefiting real-life experts in the field today.

Empowering patients

What does personalized care actually look like? In many ways, personalized care is all about empowering patients. For Dr. Charlsie Celestine, an obstetrician and gynecologist, who sits on Flo’s Board of more than 140 medical and health experts, “personalized care as an OB-GYN means treating everyone as an individual,” she says. “No two people or two problems are the same. I take the time to listen to each person and tailor their treatment and plans accordingly.”

Similarly, Dr. Jennifer Boyle, an obstetrician and gynecologist, also a Flo expert, says: “Providing personalized care means working with every patient as an individual to best meet their unique needs. Understanding what is most important to each person and what they most value and prioritize will help me work with my patients as a team.” 

More than once, Dr. Boyle highlights one overarching principle of personalized care: it can empower patients. “I find that when people play a role in designing their own care plan, they are much more likely to continue with treatment and feel more empowered about their health in general,” she says. 
Already have a concise description of when their mood symptoms begin and end with relation to their cycle.”

Delving into the data

We live in an era of information overload. A world of alerts, notifications, and constant pings. But what if OB-GYNs could harness the power of that information to benefit patients?

The key is pinpointing what you want the data to answer. For a frontline OB-GYN, this can include using patient-generated data, including monitoring blood pressure, blood glucose, and exercise levels, to continually enhance a patient’s care. 

Dr. Celestine regularly uses patients’ menstrual cycle tracking data to help diagnose patients. This, she says, can help her to identify the issue affecting her patients, “whether it’s skipping periods, which is part of diagnosing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or having pain symptoms at a certain time in your cycle that aligns with possible endometriosis.” 

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), high-quality care can be defined across six domains, including patient-centeredness. Care should respect and respond to patient preferences, needs, and values.

For Dr. Boyle, the benefits of patient-generated data are clear. “I have found menstrual cycle tracking data to be critically important in helping patients with problems such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), pelvic pain, irregular periods, and abnormal uterine bleeding,” she says. She highlights PMDD specifically. “The entire diagnosis of PMDD is made by analyzing when mood symptoms happen in relation to a person’s menstrual cycle over time,” she explains. “It is so helpful and time-saving when people can come to an initial visit with me and already have a concise description of when their mood symptoms begin and end with relation to their cycle.”