Patient communication and counseling on contraception and hormone replacement therapy

Many women are unaware of the wide range of benefits resulting from hormonal therapy. Clinicians need to improve their ability to counsel patients about the benefits and risks of oral contraceptives (OCs) and hormone replacement therapy to improve patient compliance and willingness to continue therapy. For reproductive-age women, choosing the lowest effective estrogen/progestin dose will reduce the side effects and bleeding irregularities that are major reasons for patient discontinuation. Analysis has shown that compared with OCs the new transdermal contraceptive system, which is expected to be on the market in 2002, has better outcomes and lower costs at all ages.