Maternal and child health journal
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Matern Child Health J · Mar 2000
Comparative StudyUse of high-technology care among women with high-risk pregnancies in the United States.
Infant mortality has been reduced dramatically with the development of perinatal regionalized high-technology care. Our objective was to assess use of high technology care among women with high-risk pregnancies in the urban and rural United States. ⋯ In an era where regionalized perinatal care was not threatened by managed care, a large proportion of high-risk women received care in less than optimal settings. Rural high-risk women delivered in high-technology hospitals less often than their urban counterparts. The multivariate analyses implied that the potential barriers to care may be more important among those considered more socially advantaged, who may be more at the mercy of managed care. The current reimbursement environment, which discourages referral to specialists and high-technology care, could result in less access today.