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 害羞草研究所� and waits for IUDs have nearly doubled.
Vancouver nurse practitioner Sara Eftekhar said since April 1 害羞草研究所� when B.C. became the first in the country to make several types of contraception free to those with Medical Services Plans 害羞草研究所� she害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淏ut now, at appointments, people are interested into interested in learning about the shots or the different types of IUDs. And that wasn害羞草研究所檛 really like the case before,害羞草研究所� she explained.害羞草研究所漀ow the conversation has shifted, with people being able to choose, which is really empowering, and really important for achieving health equity.害羞草研究所�
Typically, Eftekhar said, IUDs were much more expensive. Even with benefits, people could still be paying $100 or more.
害羞草研究所淎 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.害羞草研究所�
But that害羞草研究所檚 now leading to longer waits for people to get them between trying to get a doctor害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 one of the big barriers is like how the government has introduced this new policy, but hasn害羞草研究所檛 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.害羞草研究所�
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 it害羞草研究所檚 too early to comment on any trends.
Eftekhar said that several types of contraception are also not included in the government害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淚 see a lot of people who want the free contraception who are majority white and English speaking. Whereas I don害羞草研究所檛 really see that 害羞草研究所� for a lot of communities who are non-English speakers.害羞草研究所�
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.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 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,害羞草研究所� 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.
害羞草研究所淭he need to go get a prescription for the pill, every three months is a burden on our healthcare system. If someone害羞草研究所檚 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.害羞草研究所�
lauren.collins@blackpress.ca
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