Family Planning in 2017 and Beyond

 

How will reproductive health care be affected by the new winds blowing in Washington DC following the November 2016 elections? What will happen to the provision that insurance companies cover contraceptive methods and counseling in the Affordable Care Act? It’s too early to discern what changes will follow the political tides, but we already can expect changes just from the innovations that are growing up around contraceptive delivery alternatives. These innovations offer benefits, but providers will need to adjust their services to accommodate these new alternatives and to stake their place and make clear their value to patients.

Michael Policar, MD, MPH, clinical professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, has been our herald through the myriad changes to the family planning field over the past decade. At the recent Contraceptive Technology conference in Atlanta, Dr. Policar explored key new contraceptive delivery systems and suggested strategies for providers to adapt to the developments. Here, he shares his slides.