Over the past few years, many industries have gone digital. The medical field has been no exception — here's how to navigate it for your fertility journey.
Since the pandemic, telehealth and telemedicine have become more common as more and more people sought more accessible care. In 2021, the CDC reported that 37% of adults had used telemedicine in the past 12 months .
Access to care is of the utmost importance in reproductive health, and telehealth can provide a lot of benefits as you undergo your fertility journey. Here are some advantages remote care can bring.
Provides inclusive care One major problem in fertility care is that treatments and interventions can be prohibitively expensive for many. A study from the Nature Public Health Emergency Collection notes that there is a significant disparity in access to fertility care treatment. This mainly impacts those living in geographically underserved locations and women in marginalized communities.
For instance, a study was conducted to find innovative ways to provide reproductive education to women struggling with opioid use disorder. Healthcare practitioners from a family planning clinic in Maine set up a program to connect women living in a rural part of the state with a nurse practitioner via telehealth to receive reproductive health services.
This gave a hard-to-reach population a chance to get the proper care that supported their health for potential pregnancies. Overall, telehealth can make fertility and reproductive services more inclusive and equitable by allowing for a broader geographic reach than in-person visits.
Gives access to a broader range of professionals You might want to cover your bases when trying to conceive , but it can be costly and time-consuming to seek out various healthcare professionals in person.
You may also be unable to get multiple opinions for comprehensive guidance due to these constraints. There is also a shortage in many states of medical providers. For example, 81 of 88 counties in Ohio have a primary care physician shortage. Across the United States, rural counties have 29% fewer primary care doctors per 100,000 people.
Telehealth can be an ideal solution to connect women to various medical providers if a local one can’t be reached. For example, fertility and sexual health remote nurse practitioners in Ohio can provide front-line care through their extensive training. They are trained to provide health services on par with in-person practitioners and facilities, so you can be assured that you're getting the best remote care.
Through telehealth, you can reach all kinds of professionals, such as an OB/GYN, a reproductive endocrinologist, an immunologist, and other fertility specialists and staff who can guide you on your journey.
Having access to a wider range of experienced practitioners can help you feel more equipped to make well-informed decisions about your fertility journey.
Improves your quality of life Navigating fertility issues can impact you physically and emotionally, especially without sufficient support. It can be exhausting, stressful, and upsetting trying to get a diagnosis. Even once you have received a diagnosis, getting adequate and actionable care can be difficult due to low resources and the stigma associated with sexual health.
Attending an in-person appointments can even be a source of anxiety. This is especially true for people who have experienced trauma in medical settings or have had negative experiences related to reproductive health care in the past. They might be apprehensive about continuing in-person check-ups or treatment.
Telehealth allows a new way to connect with a healthcare professional from the comfort of your own home. It breaks down barriers to entry that can make seeking care more difficult or uncomfortable.
Takeaway Telehealth can help tear down that barrier by providing comprehensive care in a safe and comfortable space for a patient. This can be instrumental in detecting and diagnosing ailments earlier on to maintain a good quality of life.
Women from all backgrounds deserve to have the best healthcare available when it comes to fertility and reproductive health. At Oova, it's our goal to provide that help with our Oova Test Kits , so you can get the best insights on your fertility whenever and wherever you are.
Oova can complement and support telehealth visits by allowing you to receive full spectrum care from home. Oova provides an at-home alternative to in-person blood draws and allows for telehealth visits to be more productive.
When you use Oova with a provider, your doctor will receive your test results in realtime. For the first time, you can have quantitative hormone data to refer to when having a telehealth visit.
