EC gets wired: Clinics use web, phone to boost access
How are you providing emergency contraception (EC) at your facility? Two Planned Parenthood Federation of America affiliates are breaking down the barriers to access by providing care through a toll-free hotline and an Internet assessment. If you’d like to extend the availability of EC in your area, see what it takes to implement such services in your organization.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana in Indianapolis has launched EC Online, which allows women to be assessed for an EC prescription via the Internet. The service was launched on March 20, 2002, and in eight days logged 2,200 "hits" and nine orders for EC, says Maureen Dobie, media coordinator for the affiliate. (The service is available through the affiliate’s web site, www.ppin.org.)
The affiliate operates 38 clinics and is the third-largest agency in the New York City-based organization. Because it already employs a webmaster and has the necessary technology infrastructure, it was easier than expected to get the web site going, says Dobie. The program has hired an extra nurse practitioner to handle the increased workload.
The EC Online service is in operation Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The site instructs visitors that EC Online is not a 24-hour service; women who submit an on-line assessment outside of the listed operating hours do not receive confirmation for their prescriptions until the following morning. If assessments are submitted after operating hours on Saturday, confirmation is not received until Monday morning.
To receive EC, women must be 18 years old, have a valid credit card, and supply the name, address, and phone number of their local pharmacy. Only Indiana residents can access the service. Women are charged a nonrefundable $40 fee for the on-line assessment, and must pay either $23 for a prescription filled through one of the affiliate’s clinics or $28-$35 if purchasing EC from a retail pharmacy.
The affiliate is running about seven weeks of radio advertisements in four cities and newspaper advertisements at eight colleges to get the word out about the Internet service, reports Dobie. In addition, it is advertising in a weekly alternative paper in Indianapolis and promoting through three radio stations’ web sites. In-house, staff members are wearing EC lapel pins and distributing fliers about EC’s mode of action.
The demand for EC in Indiana is "growing tremendously," says Dobie. The affiliate saw a 33% jump in demand for such services from 2000 to 2001. The Internet program is a second step in the organization’s ongoing commitment to EC access; it also has implemented free emergency contraception for all survivors of sexual assault, she reports.
Dial EC’ covers NC
What’s the quickest and most accessible way to receive EC pills in North Carolina? According to local Planned Parenthood affiliates, it’s the "Dial EC" statewide toll-free hotline that allows women to call for EC prescriptions over the telephone.
The hotline [(866) 942-7762] is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Trained specialists gather relevant medical information over the telephone and fax prescriptions to a caller’s nearest Planned Parenthood or pharmacy.
Since the program began in February 2001, more than 4,200 prescriptions have been written, says Shaina Gross, Dial EC project manager. The program is a project of the North Carolina affiliates and is housed in the Chapel Hill offices of the Planned Parenthood of Orange and Durham Counties.
Education has played a major role in the success of the program, notes Gross. To bring pharmacies on line, the program has provided information on the difference between EC and mifepristone (the abortion drug), as well as answered questions on the demand for the method.
The program averages 100 calls a week, with 30 of those calls coming in on Monday, says Gross. Women who call North Carolina Planned Parent-hood clinics are directed to dial the hotline for their EC prescriptions. By calling the hotline, the women quickly get their EC prescriptions without a physical exam, and the clinics are better able to schedule their workdays, she notes.
Dial EC posters featuring tear-off pads with the hotline telephone number are posted at each of the state’s 100 health departments, says Gross. The health departments refer all telephone requests for EC to the hotline. In turn, when callers say they obtained the telephone number from the health department and ask for follow-up contraceptive care, they are referred back to the health departments.
Funding for the program has come in part from Family Health International of Research Triangle Park, NC, which received monies from the Menlo Park, CA-based William and Flora Hewlett Founda-tion to promote EC awareness. Gross estimates the program’s operational costs at $100,000 in its first year, plus $30,000 in marketing and advertising. To augment the promotional budget, the program is using a grassroots approach. Program leaders are targeting college campuses with newspaper advertisements and speaking with student health center personnel about the need for EC. (Contraceptive Technology Update reported on Planned Parent-hood-Chicago Area and Planned Parenthood of Georgia, the first two affiliates to offer EC on-line, in its June 2001 article, "EC on the Internet: Pro-grams go on-line," p. 67.)
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