Publication Addresses Misconceptions About Emergency Contraception

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 28 Mar 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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The approval of an emergency contraceptive with over-the-counter access for individuals aged 18 years and older provides another option for preventing unintended pregnancy. However, many patients are uninformed or misinformed about how emergency contraception works and when they may need it. Clinicians should to be able to address these questions and proactively counsel patients about their risk of pregnancy.

To address this issue, OBG Management and The Journal of Family Practice have collaborated to publish "Emergency contraception: When and how to use it," distributed as a supplement to the February 2008 issues.

This publication provides clinicians with valuable information about emergency contraception. A handout sheet for patients was included to reinforce clinical counseling efforts. The publication highlights effective strategies for collaboration between clinicians and pharmacists to promote access to emergency contraception.

Supplement co-author Joseph S. Sanfilippo, MD, MBA, remarked on the relevance of this material, in light of the recent report from the CDC that shows an increased incidence of teen pregnancy: "Emergency contraception will avert the problems intrinsic to conception in this age group. Studies show that teen education about Plan B is not associated with any increase in incidence of teen sexual activity."

OBG Management, a peer-reviewed journal distributed to 40,000 ob/gyns, and The Journal of Family Practice, a peer-reviewed journal distributed to 96,000 primary care physicians, have developed this supplement under a grant from Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Physicians can access this supplement on http://www.obgmanagement.com and on http://www.jfponline.com. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can find this publication at http://www.apctoday.com, an online resource for advanced practice clinicians.

OBG Management and The Journal of Family Practice are published by Dowden Health Media, a Division of Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. Dowden Health Media is a full-service healthcare communications company that specializes in high-quality communication with physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and consumers. Its highly respected, peer-reviewed journals reach more than 300,000 physicians and clinicians in surgery, psychiatry, family practice, internal medicine & obstetrics/gynecology.

The Journal of Family Practice; OBG Management
http://www.jfponline.com