Healthcare is changing quickly.
Medical records are digital. Test results appear on phones. Artificial intelligence can organize information and help doctors review large amounts of data. Patients can search symptoms online in seconds.
But there is something technology cannot replace:
A doctor who actually knows you.
At Women’s Health Group Chicago, that belief has shaped our practice for more than 40 years.
The mission began with Dr. Magdy Awad and continues today with Dr. Michael Awad and a growing team of providers. Two generations of physicians have shared the same basic philosophy: women deserve medical care built around long-term relationships, careful listening, and an understanding of the whole person.
As the practice grows, we are intentionally preserving the values that made the traditional solo-practice model special.
Patients should be known.
They should be remembered.
And over time, they should feel like part of our practice family.
Why Continuity of Care Matters
Continuity of care means being cared for over time by a physician or clinical team that knows your history.
That is different from receiving each visit as a separate event.
AHRQ defines coordinated care as making sure a patient’s needs and preferences are known and that information reaches the right people at the right time. Research has also found that greater physician continuity is associated with higher patient trust and, across many studies, better health outcomes.
In gynecology, this long-term knowledge can be especially valuable.
A woman’s health changes throughout her life:
- Birth control needs change
- Pregnancy plans change
- Periods change
- Sexual health changes
- Hormones change
- Pelvic symptoms may appear slowly
- Fibroids and other conditions can evolve
- Perimenopause eventually begins
- Menopause creates a new set of health questions
A single visit gives a physician a snapshot.
Years of caring for someone provide context.
Sometimes the Most Important Finding Is That Something Has Changed
Medical tests matter.
Ultrasounds matter.
Lab values matter.
Pathology matters.
But none of them exist by themselves.
Knowing a patient over time can help a physician recognize when something is different from her normal.
Research on continuity has shown that physicians use their knowledge of established patients, including their medical histories and usual patterns of seeking care, as part of clinical decision-making. Researchers have not established that familiarity automatically improves diagnostic accuracy, but it can provide additional clinical context that is not contained in a laboratory result or image.
That difference matters.
A symptom that appears minor on paper may deserve more attention when a physician knows that the patient rarely complains.
A change in bleeding may mean more when her doctor knows what her periods have been like for the past 10 years.
A pelvic pain complaint may make more sense when viewed alongside years of menstrual, pregnancy, surgical, and imaging history.
Sometimes the important clue is not a number.
It is the change from what is normal for that individual patient.
“I Treat My Patients and Their Symptoms — Not Their Numbers and Images”
Dr. Mike describes the philosophy this way:
“I treat my patients and their symptoms, not their numbers and images. They are just a part of the whole picture.”
That does not mean testing is less important.
It means testing must be interpreted in the context of the person sitting in front of us.
An ultrasound image does not tell us how much pain you have.
A blood test does not explain how a symptom has changed over five years.
A medical chart may list your diagnoses, but it cannot fully describe how those conditions affect your life.
Good medical care brings all of those pieces together.
Your symptoms. Your examination. Your history. Your testing. Your goals. And the physician’s knowledge of you over time.
Two Generations of OBGYN Care in Chicago
The values behind Women’s Health Group Chicago did not begin with Dr. Michael Awad.
They began more than four decades ago with Dr. Magdy Awad.
The practice was built around a traditional model of medicine in which the physician knew the patient, knew her family when appropriate, followed her through different stages of life, and remained personally involved in her care.
That mission has now passed from one generation of physicians to the next.
Today, Women’s Health Group Chicago continues to grow, but the goal is not to leave that model behind.
It is to build on it.
When Patients Become Part of the Practice Family
Women’s health is unusually personal.
Over many years, an OBGYN may care for a patient through:
- Her first gynecologic visit
- Birth control decisions
- Pregnancy
- Childbirth
- Fertility concerns
- Changes in menstrual bleeding
- Fibroids or ovarian cysts
- Pelvic pain
- Perimenopause
- Menopause
- Preventive care later in life
Those repeated visits create something that cannot be recreated from a questionnaire before an appointment.
History develops.
Your doctor learns what is usual for you and what is not.
You become more comfortable talking about symptoms that may be difficult or embarrassing to discuss with someone you have just met.
Research has found an association between longer continuity of care and greater patient trust, and patients report valuing physicians who know them and with whom they can comfortably communicate their concerns.
That relationship can give the medical team information that might never appear in a standard intake form.
Technology Should Support Your Doctor — Not Replace Your Doctor
Artificial intelligence will have an important role in healthcare.
We believe it should be used thoughtfully.
Technology can help physicians organize records, review information, find patterns, and reduce administrative work.
But entering symptoms into software is not the same as caring for a patient.
In fact, current FDA guidance on clinical decision-support technology emphasizes that certain software should support healthcare professionals rather than replace or direct their clinical judgment. The American Medical Association has similarly stated that AI should support rather than replace physician judgment.
That distinction is central to our philosophy.
We are not against technology. We are against allowing technology to replace the human relationship at the center of medicine.
We want our physicians to have better tools.
We do not want our patients reduced to data points.
A Symptom List Is Not a Person
Imagine two women both report:
“My periods have become heavier.”
On a symptom checklist, they may look nearly identical.
But they may be completely different patients.
One may be 32 and trying to become pregnant.
Another may be 46 and experiencing a sudden change after decades of predictable periods.
One may have fibroids.
Another may have a polyp.
Another may be entering perimenopause.
Another may have developed anemia.
And another may need evaluation of the uterine lining.
The symptom is only the beginning.
The physician still has to understand:
- When it started
- What was normal before
- How quickly it changed
- Other symptoms
- Previous pregnancies
- Medications
- Previous ultrasounds
- Family and medical history
- Risk factors
- Fertility goals
- What matters most to the patient
That is why our practice treats patients who have symptoms, not simply symptoms that need to be matched with a diagnosis.
One Practice, One Roof
Relationships are easier to preserve when care remains connected.
That is one reason Women’s Health Group Chicago has invested in providing many services within the practice.
Depending on the patient’s needs, our in-office care includes:
- Comprehensive gynecologic evaluation
- Ultrasound imaging
- Endometrial evaluation
- IUD placement
- In-office hysteroscopy
- Treatment of selected uterine polyps and fibroids
- Endometrial ablation
- Ongoing follow-up care
Not every condition belongs in the office, and referral to a hospital or specialist remains important when medically appropriate.
But when care can safely stay within one coordinated practice, the same clinical team can follow the problem from the first symptom through evaluation, treatment, and follow-up.
AHRQ identifies communication, shared knowledge, accountability, and follow-up as core parts of effective care coordination.
Why Keeping Care Connected Can Matter
Consider a patient who develops abnormal bleeding.
In a fragmented system, she might:
- See one clinician for the initial complaint
- Go somewhere else for an ultrasound
- Return to another provider to discuss the result
- Go to a surgery center for a procedure
- See another clinician for follow-up
Every transfer creates another place where information has to move between people and systems.
AHRQ notes that healthcare can become disjointed across different sites and that referral processes can result in incomplete or delayed communication.
Our preference, when medically appropriate, is simpler:
Evaluate the patient, perform the necessary testing, explain what we find, treat the problem, and follow the patient afterward within one coordinated practice.
This is also why services such as in-office hysteroscopy fit naturally into our model.
The value is not simply that the procedure can be performed in the office.
The value is that the physician who understands why the investigation was started can remain involved through diagnosis, treatment, pathology, and follow-up.
Growing Without Losing What Made the Practice Different
Women’s Health Group Chicago is expanding.
That means adding new physicians and providers so that we can care for more women and offer broader access.
Growth creates an important responsibility.
We do not want to become a larger practice where every visit feels anonymous.
Instead, the principles of the traditional solo-practice model are being built into how we train providers and how the practice operates.
Those principles include:
- Know your patients
- Listen before treating
- Review the entire history
- Keep care coordinated
- Explain why you are recommending something
- Look beyond a single test result
- Follow through after treatment
- Be available when something changes
- Treat the person, not simply the diagnosis
New technology may change how we practice medicine.
It should not change why we practice it.
From Dr. Magdy Awad to the Next Generation
More than 40 years ago, Dr. Magdy Awad began caring for women in Chicago with a relationship-based model of medicine.
That approach became the foundation for what is now Women’s Health Group Chicago.
Today, Dr. Michael Awad continues that mission while expanding the services and clinical capabilities available within the practice.
As new providers join the team, that mission continues with them.
The objective is not simply to preserve a name.
It is to preserve a way of practicing medicine:
Know the patient. Understand the whole picture. Use technology where it helps. Stay involved. And build relationships that can last for decades.
Why Choose an Independent OBGYN Practice in Chicago?
There is no single practice model that is best for every patient.
Large healthcare systems can provide important specialty services, hospital resources, and access to complex care.
Independent practices can offer a different experience.
At Women’s Health Group Chicago, our model is designed around:
- Long-term physician-patient relationships
- A consistent clinical team
- Two generations of OBGYN care
- Coordinated in-office services
- Direct physician involvement
- Knowledge of the patient’s history over time
- Care across different stages of a woman’s life
- Modern technology without losing personal care
- A practice culture built around continuity
When outside expertise is needed, we refer.
When hospital care is appropriate, we use the hospital.
The goal is not to keep every aspect of medicine under one roof.
The goal is to keep the patient at the center of it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Continuity of OBGYN Care
What does continuity of care mean?
Continuity of care means having a physician or clinical team that follows your health over time rather than treating every visit as an unrelated event.
It allows your current symptoms and test results to be viewed alongside your previous history.
Why is continuity important in women’s health?
Women’s health changes significantly throughout adulthood.
Pregnancy, fertility, menstrual patterns, contraception, pelvic conditions, perimenopause, and menopause can all develop over many years.
Having a clinician who knows your previous history can provide useful context when something changes.
Research has found that continuity is associated with greater patient trust and better health outcomes, although the exact effect varies by clinical setting.
Does seeing the same doctor improve diagnosis?
It can provide valuable diagnostic context, but it has not been proven that continuity automatically improves diagnostic accuracy.
Research shows that physicians use knowledge of established patients and their usual patterns when making clinical decisions. Whether that familiarity directly increases diagnostic accuracy requires further study.
Can AI replace an OBGYN?
No current AI system replaces the complete role of an OBGYN.
AI can support parts of healthcare and clinical decision-making, but FDA guidance distinguishes clinical decision-support tools from systems that replace a healthcare professional’s judgment.
A patient’s care may require history-taking, examination, imaging, procedures, pathology, clinical judgment, discussion of personal goals, and ongoing follow-up.
Does Women’s Health Group Chicago use modern technology?
Yes.
Our philosophy is not to choose between technology and personal medicine.
The goal is to use modern tools while maintaining physician judgment and the long-term relationships that have defined the practice.
Is Women’s Health Group Chicago still a solo practice?
Women’s Health Group Chicago is growing and adding providers.
What we are preserving is the philosophy of the traditional solo-practice model: personal responsibility for the patient, continuity, accessibility, and a relationship that develops over time.
The practice can grow without allowing the patient experience to become anonymous.
Can I receive testing and procedures at the same OBGYN practice?
Many common gynecologic evaluations and procedures are available within Women’s Health Group Chicago, including ultrasound, endometrial evaluation, IUD placement, hysteroscopy, and endometrial ablation when appropriate.
Some medical conditions still require hospital care, advanced imaging, or referral to another specialist.
Can I transfer my OBGYN care from a larger healthcare system?
Yes.
Your previous medical records, imaging, laboratory testing, pathology, and surgical history can be reviewed as part of establishing care.
From that point forward, the goal is to develop the kind of longitudinal relationship in which your medical team knows not only what is happening today, but also what came before it.
Take the Next Step
Choosing an OBGYN is about more than choosing where to have a Pap test or ultrasound.
For many women, it means choosing the physicians who may care for them through decades of change.
At Women’s Health Group Chicago, that responsibility has now passed through two generations of physicians and more than 40 years of care.
As the practice grows, our mission remains the same:
Know our patients. Listen carefully. Look at the whole picture. Use technology without allowing it to replace human judgment. And build relationships that can last for generations.
If you are looking for a Chicago OBGYN practice focused on continuity, long-term relationships, and personalized women’s healthcare, schedule a visit with Women’s Health Group Chicago.
