The evolving role of emergency medicine in family planning services

The emergency department serves as an essential access point for a variety of healthcare services. This review will examine the recent expansion of family planning and reproductive health services in the emergency department.

An increasing number of patients present to emergency departments for early pregnancy loss (EPL), abortion care, and contraceptive management. Availability of comprehensive EPL management varies dramatically, possibly due to lack of provider knowledge or training. Particularly in remote settings, educational interventions - such as providing information about medication management and training in uterine aspiration - may standardize this management. Restrictive abortion laws raise concerns for changing and increased patient presentations to the emergency department for complications related to unsafe or self-managed abortion. Emergency medicine providers should anticipate that more patients will present without a prior ultrasound confirming intrauterine pregnancy prior to initiating no-touch or self-managed abortions. Particularly among pediatric patients, there may be a role for contraceptive counseling during an emergency department visit. Novel strategies, including web-based interventions and emergency department-based curricula for contraceptive counseling, may help reach those who otherwise may not seek reproductive healthcare in a clinic setting.

The intersection of emergency medicine and reproductive healthcare is a promising frontier for providing immediate, patient-centered, family planning care. Continued research and provider education are necessary to refine these approaches, address disparities, and respond to the changing reproductive healthcare landscape.