Context: First trimester abortion is among the most common medical services provided in the United States today. Almost 40% of first trimester abortions are safely provided by using two – U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – approved medications. The scourge of COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent need to simplify medication abortion services from an in-person clinic-based model, to online consultations with shipment of abortion pills directly to patients. “No-test” protocols demonstrate that using telemedicine to provide medication abortion without first requiring an ultrasound, pelvic exam, or blood work, is as safe and effective as when these services are provided in the clinic. This provider toolkit can help build the capacity for family medicine physicians to provide “no-test, pills-being-mailed” medication abortion to their patients, allowing for increased abortion access during COVID-19.
Objective: To explore perspectives of family medicine clinicians and staff regarding essential operational aspects needed for a simplified model of online medication abortion provision in their practices.
Study Design: Qualitative descriptive study drawing on the principles of participatory research. This will consist of clinic observations and semi-structured interviews, which will be analyzed using conventional content analysis.
Setting or Dataset: Family medicine practices that recently started offering “no-test, pills-being-mailed” medication abortion services.
Population studied: Family medicine healthcare providers and staff.
Intervention/Instrument: Interview guide that includes open-ended questions and prompts.
Outcome Measures: Relevant laws and regulations, state-specific and federal guidelines for telemedicine and abortion care, abortion pill acquisition, documentation of tele-visit, medication shipment, cost, reimbursement of service, success of medication abortion and any complications.
Anticipated Results: Data related to the outcome measures will inform the development of the toolkit.
Conclusions: Perspectives of clinic staff and providers who recently implemented a novel medication abortion service will inform a toolkit designed to build capacity of new providers interested in offering “no-test, pills-being-mailed” medication abortion service as a part of their family medicine practices.