The Self-Care Step Too Many Women Skip

Women today are busier than ever. From work to caregiving to household management to making time for loved ones, it seems like no matter what stage of life you’re in, there’s an endless to-do list.

As women seek balance in their lives, the notion of self-care is having a moment. As a woman, a mom, a wife and a clinician, I am elated to see this focus on taking care of ourselves and prioritizing wellness.

However, what seems to be missing in a lot of the conversations around self-care is the need for regular preventive healthcare.

To fully seize on this self-care movement, it’s an important time to reflect on the unique health challenges women face, examine barriers to care and discuss what health plans and employers can do to help women achieve optimal health.

Skipped screenings, accessibility barriers and negative experiences

Skipping preventive care can have a serious effect on long-term health and wellbeing, and our society. The World Economic Forum calls closing the women’s health gap a $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies, and estimates that women live a quarter of their lives in poor health.

What keeps women from regularly engaging in preventive care? Recent reports point to challenges with access, experience, cost, and gaps in understanding women’s health.

Consider the following:

• A survey from the American Academy of Family Physicians reveals that 45% of women skipped preventive care services, including annual check-ups and screenings, due to lack of appointment availability, cost and limited time in their schedules.
• Teladoc Health research shows that only 49% of women feel they can full access care for their unique needs, including 51% experiencing barriers to care or access issues for reproductive health and family planning, and 46% for preventive care and screenings¹. In fact, 75% of women who experience barriers to care say that it impacts their quality of life, daily activities and mental health¹.
• A Deloitte Center for Health Solutions analysis reveals that 40% of women reported skipping because of a prior experience where clinicians discounted their symptoms or concerns.
• AARP reports that only 1 in 5 women receive a referral for a menopause specialist despite the majority of women stating menopause symptoms interfere with their lives.
• World Economic Forum estimates that 56% of the women’s health burden comes from health conditions that are more prevalent or manifest differently in women, contributing to one of the many systemic reasons why symptoms women experience are misdiagnosed or dismissed.

Defining a new era of care for women

There are a few strategies health plans and employers can implement to address these barriers for optimal women’s health:

• Help women build trusted, long-term relationships with a primary care provider (PCP) with a network that allows them to select a provider based on their personal preferences such as gender, language or culture.
• Make preventive care accessible and flexible to accommodate all types of schedules.
• Integrate care services for more seamless connections to 24/7 care, chronic condition support, mental health support, at-home services, specialists and second opinions.

At Teladoc Health, we have a vast network of diverse providers so members can select a PCP that best fits them. Appointment availability is often within the same day, with women accounting for 67% of same-day visits². Visits are never rushed, and members have unlimited access to their PCP and care team through the mobile app.

With this approach, we see an average of 12-15 care team interactions per member each year³, which is a sign that this approach is helping women conveniently meet their health needs. Through our primary care service, women receive personalized and comprehensive support for a broad range of concerns such as cancer detection, heart health, low bone density, perimenopause and menopause, including hormone replacement therapy when needed, contraception, healthy living, aging and more.

A strong PCP relationship also helps with better care coordination and navigation to additional health services as needed. Rather than navigating the healthcare system alone, women benefit from having a trusted provider who can guide them to the right care at the right time. At Teladoc Health, we help connect women to a wide range of supportive services such as mental health, nutrition, chronic condition support, second opinion services, musculoskeletal health and family-building. When in-person care is necessary, we also help coordinate those visits, ensuring nothing gets missed along the way.

Coordinated, compassionate and empathetic care empowers women to take charge of their health with confidence, supporting both immediate concerns and long-term wellness. Prioritizing preventive care as an essential form of self-care is a powerful step towards lifelong wellness, allowing women to stay proactive, informed and in control of their health, ensuring they not only live longer, but live well.

^{1. Teladoc Health 2025 consumer brand health tracker, March 2025}

^{2. Teladoc Health Primary360 data, 2024 [PA-6476]}

^{3. Teladoc Health data, [DS-12531]}