Telemedicine for Medication Abortion: The Time Is Now

Purpose of Review This review will provide an overview of the current restrictions to medication abortion in the USA, strategies for incorporating telemedicine into medical abortion care, and new evidence on the efficacy and safety of telemedicine as a means to provide medication abortions. Recent Findings Newly published data from the TelAbortion study, the first direct-to-patient medication abortion service in the USA, shows that it is as safe, successful, and acceptable to patients as previous international data on similar care delivery systems. Other groups have continued to build upon the existing body of literature supporting the safety of telemedicine-facilitated medication abortion in other countries. All recent studies continue to support telemedicine as a desired method to increase abortion access in a variety of geographical settings. Medication abortion is a safe and common method to end unwanted pregnancy but is often inaccessible to patients remote from an abortion clinic. Telemedicine can be safely utilized for counseling, provision, and follow-up of medication abortion. However, its implementation is limited in the USA due to restrictive, medically unnecessary prescribing laws. Research indicates that telemedicine-based medication abortions have similar rates of completion as in-person medication abortions, with equivalent complication rates. Patients choose telemedicine for medication abortion for a variety of reasons, including privacy, accessibility, and personal preference, but generally report high rates of satisfaction with the method. These data argue for the expansion of telemedicine for medication abortion, expanding the availability of safe abortion with fewer logistical burdens to patients seeking care.