Medication abortion via telehealth is just as safe and effective as with a clinic visit, study shows

Research has long found that medication abortion is safe and effective, but a new study shows that to be true even when the patient gets the medicine through a telehealth appointment.

Research has long found that medication abortion is safe and effective, but a new study shows that to be true even when the patient gets the medicine through a telehealth appointment. Medication abortion, also known as medical abortion, is the method by which someone ends their pregnancy using pills rather than a surgical procedure. It’s the most common form of abortion in the United States. It’s also come under fire recently. In April, a Texas judge suspended the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in the practice in the United States. The medication is still available while the ruling is under review by the US Supreme Court. US providers have offered telehealth services for medication abortion at some level since around 2008, but it became a much more widely used option during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the FDA said it would no longer require an in-person appointment for a provider to dispense the drugs, making way for more virtual appointments in states where abortion and telehealth for abortion aren’t banned. The latest study, published Thursday in the journal Nature Medicine, shows that with very rare exceptions, telehealth for medication abortion is effective and safe, whether the person uses a secure form of texting or a video call. Most of the participants in the study worked with a provider through text, although they could also have a followup call or videoconference. The study looked at records from 6,034 medication abortions provided via telehealth between April 2021 and January 2022 at three virtual clinics that operate in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The effectiveness and safety of medication abortion provided through video and text appointments was found to be similar to numbers in other studies involving in-person medication abortion care.