Telehealth, the remote provision of health care services using information and communication technology, is becoming increasingly popular as a health care delivery model. In the last decade, telehealth has emerged as a tool to address barriers to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including service availability, affordability, and distance to receive care.
We believe that innovation in health care delivery is key to advancing sexual and reproductive autonomy, increasing choice in health care, and meeting individual needs. However, research on the experiences of people using telehealth, its integration into other care models, and the impact of structural inequities on telehealth provision and access remains limited.
In Iowa in 2011, Ibis evaluated the first telehealth for medication abortion service in the United States. Since then, we have evaluated in-clinic telehealth for medication abortion models in several other states, as well as a direct-to-patient telehealth for medication abortion model—where the client is at home or another convenient location when receiving care. Across each of these settings, we observed that telehealth for medication abortion was safe, effective, and acceptable to providers and clients. Further, we have demonstrated the acceptability of and support for telehealth for medication abortion among telehealth stakeholders, as well as non-medical abortion providers like abortion doulas. Beyond abortion, we synthesized the evidence on telehealth for family planning (abortion and contraception), highlighted the feasibility of using telehealth to provide family planning services to hard-to-reach populations, and explored the characteristics of those using telehealth for contraceptive services.
At its core, the telehealth research portfolio aims to generate evidence that will sustain and expand this innovative and now critical healthcare model, with an eye to the inequities that are present within the United States health care system. Our efforts highlight the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of telehealth and explore how telehealth facilitates access to sexual and reproductive health care across geographic settings and populations.