No-Test Medication Abortion: A Sample Protocol for Increasing Access During a Pandemic and Beyond
The COVID-19 epidemic has triggered an acute need to minimize the time that patients spend in medical facilities and to reduce physical contact between patients and providers. In response to this need, Gynuity recently led the collaborative development of a sample protocol for providing medication abortion without any routine facility-based tests either before or after treatment. The protocol includes recommendations for patient selection, Rh status evaluation and management, the treatment regimen, and follow-up without facility-based tests. We also provide guidance on counseling patients using this approach. We expect that the no-test approach will continue to be beneficial after the epidemic ends, by decreasing cost and enhancing convenience and comfort of medical abortion and by facilitating new service delivery approaches that can increase access to this essential health care. The full article is available open access at Contraception E. G. Raymond, D. Grossman, A. Mark et al., Commentary: No-test medication abortion: A sample protocol for increasing access during a pandemic and beyond, Contraception, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2020.04.005.