The supply of contraceptive pills over 12 months reduces unwanted pregnancies and the cost



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A new study shows that women receive a supply of oral contraceptives every 12 months, which makes them less likely to have an unwanted pregnancy than if they need to be replenished every three months.

The researchers also discovered that it was more cost-effective to provide the veterans with 12 months of pill than to distribute only three months of contraceptives at a time, according to the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The usual practice of dispensing only three months of pills "is the norm and is seen as a measure of economy to prevent the waste of drugs that people do not use," said the author. lead author of the study, Colleen Judge-Golden, a doctor .RE. student at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh. "But waste concerns are eclipsed by the potential savings from pregnancy, and a few days without treatment can lead to unwanted pregnancy."

Although the study was conducted with women serving in the military, "gaps in contraceptive use are also common among women in the general population of the United States, and prolonged distribution of contraceptive medications Short-acting hormonal is an evidence-based strategy to help women use these methods consistently when this is their goal, "said Justice Golden. "In 2019, 17 states and the federal district of Columbia pbaded legislation requiring insurers to provide for the distribution of contraceptive products for 12 months during initial fill."

Judge-Golden and her colleagues used a computer model to badyze the impact of reducing the number of times a woman would be forced to renew her contraceptive prescriptions based on the risk of unplanned pregnancies and the cost . The VA data showed that 43% of women who receive their oral contraceptives in three month increments undergo at least an interval of at least seven days between renewals during a year of life. use.

The average annual cost per woman was approximately $ 700.60 for the 12-month option, compared to $ 787.72 for the three-month option, which meant that the VA would save $ 87.12 per woman, which would add more than $ 2.1 million annually to the 24,309 veterinary women receiving oral contraceptives.

The largest cost savings would come from reducing unplanned pregnancies. Each year, 149 unwanted pregnancies were forecast per 1,000 women with the 12-month option, compared to 173 per 1,000 with the three-month renewal option, a total reduction of 24 unplanned pregnancies for 1,000 veterinary women per year. This reduction would result in 583 unwanted pregnancies averted each year if the AV adopted a 12-month dispensing option, found Judge-Golden and his colleagues.

The researchers hope that the new study will bring about changes to the VA, "especially since veteran women have no access to abortion or even abortion coverage. cases where (the life of the mother is in danger), "said Dr. Sonya, lead author of the study. Borrero, director of the Center for Research and Innovation in Women's Health at the University of Pittsburgh and badociate director of the Center for Research and the Promotion of Health Equity of the University of Pittsburgh. AV.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2JwmghU JAMA Internal Medicine, online July 8, 2019.

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