We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Online Contraception Services Offer Efficiency and Safety

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 10 Oct 2019
Print article
Web-based and digital-app services offering oral birth control prescription services overwhelmingly adhere to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA) prescribing guidelines, claims a new study.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS; Boston, MA, USA) and the University of California Davis (UCD; USA) recruited volunteers to assume the roles of “secret shopper” patients and purchase birth control online. Some of the so-called patients were instructed to say they were taking medications or had medical conditions that ruled them out as suitable for oral contraception. The shoppers entered nine online contraception vendors that offered services in the United States, completing 63 visits between October 2018 and March of 2019.

The online visits lasted between seven and eight minutes. If a patient presented with a contraindication for oral birth control, such as a history of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) or migraine, they would receive a text message, a phone call, or a video call from the prescriber to discuss the matter further. The analysis showed that online vendors adhered to CDC prescribing guidelines 93% of the time. According to the researchers, the robust adherence to guidelines observed likely stemmed from the use of automated checklists. The study was published on September 26, 2019, in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

“People aren't good at checklists, but computers are very good at checklists, and for certain conditions and certain scenarios, checklists may greatly optimize performance,” said senior author Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH, of HMS. “Patients with contraindications for oral birth control received prescriptions in three of 45 instances, sometimes because they presented with relatively rare conditions not highlighted in the guidelines that might easily be missed during an in-person visit, too.”

“Automation and checklists have great potential to improve clinical care. For example, computer algorithms that conduct the initial screening for certain routine conditions could alleviate physician workload and ease flow in clinics and offices, allowing clinicians to spend time on more complex tasks and cases,” concluded lead author Tara Jain, a student at HMS, and colleagues. “But it's also crucial to have physicians involved to help think about how these new tools and models can best be used to increase access safely and to help people get the best care possible.”

The oral contraceptive pill, colloquially known as "the pill," is a birth control method that combines both an estrogen and a progestogen. When taken by mouth every day, these pills inhibit female fertility (with reversibility). Pills containing ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel are the first choice of combined oral contraceptives, as they entail the least risk of thrombosis among all combined contraceptive pills.

Related Links:
CDC
Harvard Medical School
University of California Davis


Gold Member
Real-Time Diagnostics Onscreen Viewer
GEMweb Live
Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
Silver Member
Wireless Mobile ECG Recorder
NR-1207-3/NR-1207-E
New
LED Examination Light
LED 110

Print article

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: The Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System provides visual and audible indicators of the onset and progression of bleeding events (Photo courtesy of Saranas)

Novel Technology Monitors and Lowers Bleeding Complications in Patients Undergoing Heart Procedures

Bleeding complications at the femoral access site can significantly hamper recovery, affecting the success of procedures, patient satisfaction, and overall healthcare costs. It is crucial for surgeons... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The new eye-safe laser technology can diagnose traumatic brain injury (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Novel Diagnostic Hand-Held Device Detects Known Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury

The growing need for prompt and efficient diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of mortality globally, has spurred the development of innovative diagnostic technologies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.