Comparing telemedicine to in-clinic medication abortions induced with mifepristone and misoprostol

• Published in: Contraception: X 2020-01, Vol.2, p.100023-100023, Article 100023
• Main Authors: Wiebe, Ellen R, Campbell, Mackenzie, Ramasamy, Harani, Kelly, Michaela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Complications; Medication abortion; Mifepristone; Misoprostol; Telemedicine; Unscheduled communication
• ISSN: 2590-1516; 2590-1516
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conx.2020.100023

The objective was to compare the practical aspects of providing medication abortions through telemedicine and in-person clinic visits so that clinics can use this information when planning to add this service. We conducted a comparative retrospective chart review comparing telemedicine medication abortions to a control group matched for date seen. We extracted and compared demographics, use of dating ultrasound, outcomes and unscheduled visits or communications with staff and physicians. During the study period, we provided 4340 medication abortions, of which 182 (4.2%) were provided through by telemedicine; 199 patients met the criteria to be in the control group. The mean age was 28.7 years for telemedicine patients and 28.1 years for in-person patients (p = .38). The mean gestational ages were also similar, 48.2 days for telemedicine patients and 46.5 days for in-person patients (p = .03). Only 33 (18.1%) of telemedicine patients had dating ultrasounds compared to 199 (100%) of in-clinic patients (p  0.5). Unscheduled communications with office assistants were greater in the telemedicine patients than the in-person patients (84/182, 46.2% vs. 43/199, 21.6% in-person, p