Two months into B.C. making contraception free to those with MSP, a nurse practitioner says patients are asking for more information on different types of birth control B次元官网网址� and waits for IUDs have nearly doubled.
Vancouver nurse practitioner Sara Eftekhar said since April 1 B次元官网网址� when B.C. became the first in the country to make several types of contraception free to those with Medical Services Plans B次元官网网址� sheB次元官网网址檚 seen an increase of people who have chosen a different type of birth control, specifically intrauterine devices, a long-acting form of birth control.
Eftekhar was used to prescribing birth control pills, which have typically been the the cheaper option for contraception.
B次元官网网址淏ut now, at appointments, people are interested into interested in learning about the shots or the different types of IUDs. And that wasnB次元官网网址檛 really like the case before,B次元官网网址� she explained.B次元官网网址漀ow the conversation has shifted, with people being able to choose, which is really empowering, and really important for achieving health equity.B次元官网网址�
Typically, Eftekhar said, IUDs were much more expensive. Even with benefits, people could still be paying $100 or more.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of people chose not to actually get it even though we know from evidence that long-term IUDs, they have the the best benefits.B次元官网网址�
But thatB次元官网网址檚 now leading to longer waits for people to get them between trying to get a doctorB次元官网网址檚 appointment and making an appointment to get an IUD.
Prior to April, 1, Eftekhar said waits were roughly three to four weeks. Now they could be upwards of eight weeks.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 one of the big barriers is like how the government has introduced this new policy, but hasnB次元官网网址檛 really thought about ways of supporting family practitioners, like nurse practitioners or family doctors, and how to make it accessible for people to be able to get it.B次元官网网址�
Black Press Media reached out to the Health Ministry to see if they have any data on contraception prescriptions in the last two months, but a spokesperson said itB次元官网网址檚 too early to comment on any trends.
Eftekhar said that several types of contraception are also not included in the governmentB次元官网网址檚 list. That discrepancy, she said, is disappointing.
Beyond wait times, there is also the issues of equitable access throughout the province.
For Eftekhar, she finds language to be a barrier.
B次元官网网址淚 see a lot of people who want the free contraception who are majority white and English speaking. Whereas I donB次元官网网址檛 really see that B次元官网网址� for a lot of communities who are non-English speakers.B次元官网网址�
She said that has a lot to do with how the province has marketed the free contraception. She points to COVID-19 around education and vaccines, which was translated into multiple languages with far-reaching engagement.
Demand for different types of contraception could increase even further, she said.
For AccessBC, which campaigned for free birth control in B.C., there is still a push for more equitable access in the non-metropolitan regions of the province.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 much easier to get access to contraception, prescription or otherwise, in a major metropolitan centre, like Victoria or Vancouver, but much harder for people in rural and remote communities,B次元官网网址� said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, a researcher and Saanich city councillor.
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But he hopes that with pharmacists being able to prescribe some birth control as of this week that it could help.
B次元官网网址淭he need to go get a prescription for the pill, every three months is a burden on our healthcare system. If someoneB次元官网网址檚 been comfortable using the pill for 2, 3, 4 years, having them take time from the doctor and take time out of their day to get an extra appointment to fill that prescription is unnecessary burden.B次元官网网址�
lauren.collins@blackpress.ca
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