Planned Parenthood has launched a pilot program for a service that prescribes birth control to women via video visits, powered by American Well, and then sends them either the pill, the patch or the ring through the mail.
The video visit service is available online and via an iOS or Android app, called Planned Parenthood Care, but only for residents of Washington state and Minnesota. In a statement Planned Parenthood Vice President of Healthcare Innovation Jill Balderson said they have already gotten requests to expand the program to other states.
"Right now we’re in the pilot stage, making sure everything is working smoothly for patients and that we’re providing convenient access to health care providers, while simultaneously maintaining high quality services," Balderson said. "The plan is to next add discreet, secure, and convenient STD services for patients (testing and, if necessary, treatment for chlamydia and gonorrhea)."
Eventually, Balderson adds, the organization does plan to expand the program to other states.
The app doesn't offer appointment scheduling, so to talk to a physician, patients just log in to the app to check if any are available. Video visit hours are 9 am to 9 pm (local time) and 7 days a week in Minnesota and Monday through Friday in Washington. Visits last around 15 minutes.
On top of including basic personal information, the user also needs to have their blood pressure numbers available to give the provider, because the website explains this metric is important when choosing a birth control prescription. The website links to resources that help users find where they can get their blood pressure checked, but if the user doesn't get her blood pressure checked, she is still able to get a three-month supply of birth control.
The video visit costs $45 and can be paid for with a credit card, debit card, or flexible spending account card. After the visit, if patients still have questions, they can reach the provider through secure messaging offered online and in the app.
Two weeks into the pilot's launch, the app has seen 500 downloads.
"So many people struggle to balance work, family, school, and taking care of their health," Balderson said. "Whether it’s difficulty in getting an appointment, the distance to a health center, or a busy work schedule -- Planned Parenthood knows that the more access patients have to a provider, the more they can get the preventive care they need, when they need it."
This pilot program was released just a few weeks before Bayer Healthcare published a survey that found that 75 percent of Canada-based millennial women, defined as women between the ages 18 and 34, said they currently use or have used the birth control pill as contraception. And 56 percent of women who take the birth control pill use a smartphone to remember to take it.
