Clinicians at brick-and-mortar and virtual abortion sites tell STAT they’re using and exploring technology like virtual assistants, online scheduling, increased virtual visits, and asynchronous messaging to ensure more convenient access to abortion care. Ideally, these tools could minimize the need for patients traveling from other states to visit clinics and keep wait times low, they say.
“We’re working to try to figure out the best way to accommodate people,” said Melissa Grant, chief operating officer at Carafem, a chain of reproductive health care clinics in Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. After the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last month, Carafem saw its call volume double, from about 250 to 500 requests from patients each day. “Part of it is trying to make the online system as flexible and user friendly as possible. Digital technology is really, really helpful because you can scale more quickly.”
Their goal isn’t to replace in-person care. Instead, it’s to help the country’s remaining clinics treat more patients with less, said Mai Fleming, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and a medical director at HeyJane, an online abortion medication provider. That means making it easy for patients to book appointments and dial in from wherever they are, but also keeping the clinic open for anyone who needs in-person care.
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