5 ms·

This is really good news for women (and men in long term relationships with women). The amount of hoops you have to jump through to get birth control is ridicul

This is really good news for women (and men in long term relationships with women). The amount of hoops you have to jump through to get birth control is ridiculous. Have you ever been in a planned parenthood? It's basically the DMV (with an equal level of cleanliness). Women have to make at least yearly visits to this place to get absurd and intrusive medical evaluations just to get the pill. Birth control should be over the counter, full-stop.

bootload 10y ago
"The amount of hoops you have to jump through to get birth control is ridiculous." What country is this? In Aus, this is a medical/GP issue and birth control pharmaceuticals are available at the chemist via a script.
- Zak 10y ago
  Planned Parenthood is often used by women who are not regularly visiting a GP.
  - bootload 10y ago
    thanks Zak, that must be difficult.
- srtjstjsj 10y ago
  In USA, many people do not have access to a GP.
  - bootload 10y ago
    "In USA, many people do not have access to a GP." This is such an culturally alien experience. Thanks for reminding me healthcare is unevenly distributed.
    - throwaway_exer 10y ago
      Even if you have a GP, it's smart to take someone along as an advocate to help you make more informed decisions. For example, if you think you have skin cancer and go to a dermatologist in the USA, there's a good chance the receptionist will tell you their patient list is closed and you should call back in 6 months. By then you will have died twice over from a melanoma, so it's helpful to have a second person insist on staying and forcing an appointment.
    - refurb 10y ago
      Having difficulty finding a family doctor is not that odd. Many Canadians are having a hell of a time of it.[1] "...almost two million reported they have tried to find a family doctor in the past year and failed." [1]http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=5c461d67-d76a-4d41-801f-1b05a6b79d30 http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=5c461d67-d...
      - bootload 10y ago
        "five million Canadians do not have a family doctor as their first point of contact when they need to access medical care and of those people, almost two million reported they have tried to find a family doctor in the past year and failed. Even people who do have doctors are having trouble getting timely care" read the article @refurb, information shows lack of primary medical care but why? cost, lack of GPs, remoteness and dispersion of patients? I know the US and Canada are both vast countries with unequal distribution of population. The root of inequity in Australia is cost, remoteness & dispersion of the population. Most live in the cities, in the bush you cop poor quality of access and service even though primary health care is mostly free (Medicare).
llamataboot 10y ago
I agree that birth control should be available over the counter, but any PP I have ever been in has been clean, friendly, efficient, and dedicated to making sure people have access to whatever reproductive health services they need. source: I'm a man, and I go to PP for STD tests, and other men's reproductive and sexual health issues.
- exstudent2 10y ago
  That absolutely has not been my experience in major US metropolitan areas. They've been universally gross.
srtjstjsj 10y ago
> get absurd and intrusive medical evaluations just to get the pill. ? An annual gyno exam is a general best practice, whether birth control is involved or not.
- kaitai 10y ago
  That does not seem to be an evidence-based recommendation. Pap smears are recommended every 3-5 years, pelvic exams are not recommended by the American College of Physicians for healthy asymptomatic adult women, HPV test is recommended every five years in adult healthy women. Pap smears and pelvic exams more frequently than every five years are associated with a high false positive and false negative rate, incidental findings that lead to additional testing or treatment but turn out to be benign, discomfort, and higher cost. Overscreening is a real problem, and since HN has a lot of male readers I'll do a public service announcement (PSA, get it?!!) that prostate cancer overscreening doesn't lead to a mortality benefit on a population level (if you look at all-cause mortality) and leads to interventions that leave a lot of men incontinent and unable to enjoy their previous sex life [1]. If you have any symptoms, definitely go to the doctor -- screening in men with symptoms saves lives. Prostate cancer can be a killer. But just screening all healthy people of a certain age for breast, prostate, and cervical cancer every year actually leads to poorer health outcomes because we don't yet understand when to treat cancer aggressively and when to just ignore it. [1] http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1216568 http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1216568 Per 1000 men, screening all every 1-4 years for 10 years and then following through their treatment saves about 1 guy from dying, kills about 1 guy and puts 2 in the hospital from complications of biopsy and treatment, gives 3 heart attacks, and leaves 35 with bladder or sexual dysfunction problems.
  - srtjstjsj 10y ago
    Pap and HPV are only two of several elements of well care. Since GPs often don't do gyno, but gynos can do GP care, a gyno often serves as a woman's GP. http://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Annual-Womens-Health-Care/Annual-Well-Woman-Exam-Infographic http://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Annual-Women...

bootload 10y ago

"The amount of hoops you have to jump through to get birth control is ridiculous." What country is this? In Aus, this is a medical/GP issue and birth control pharmaceuticals are available at the chemist via a script.

Zak 10y ago
Planned Parenthood is often used by women who are not regularly visiting a GP.
- bootload 10y ago
  thanks Zak, that must be difficult.
srtjstjsj 10y ago
In USA, many people do not have access to a GP.
- bootload 10y ago
  "In USA, many people do not have access to a GP." This is such an culturally alien experience. Thanks for reminding me healthcare is unevenly distributed.
  - throwaway_exer 10y ago
    Even if you have a GP, it's smart to take someone along as an advocate to help you make more informed decisions. For example, if you think you have skin cancer and go to a dermatologist in the USA, there's a good chance the receptionist will tell you their patient list is closed and you should call back in 6 months. By then you will have died twice over from a melanoma, so it's helpful to have a second person insist on staying and forcing an appointment.
  - refurb 10y ago
    Having difficulty finding a family doctor is not that odd. Many Canadians are having a hell of a time of it.[1] "...almost two million reported they have tried to find a family doctor in the past year and failed." [1]http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=5c461d67-d76a-4d41-801f-1b05a6b79d30 http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=5c461d67-d...
    - bootload 10y ago
      "five million Canadians do not have a family doctor as their first point of contact when they need to access medical care and of those people, almost two million reported they have tried to find a family doctor in the past year and failed. Even people who do have doctors are having trouble getting timely care" read the article @refurb, information shows lack of primary medical care but why? cost, lack of GPs, remoteness and dispersion of patients? I know the US and Canada are both vast countries with unequal distribution of population. The root of inequity in Australia is cost, remoteness & dispersion of the population. Most live in the cities, in the bush you cop poor quality of access and service even though primary health care is mostly free (Medicare).

llamataboot 10y ago

I agree that birth control should be available over the counter, but any PP I have ever been in has been clean, friendly, efficient, and dedicated to making sure people have access to whatever reproductive health services they need. source: I'm a man, and I go to PP for STD tests, and other men's reproductive and sexual health issues.

exstudent2 10y ago
That absolutely has not been my experience in major US metropolitan areas. They've been universally gross.

srtjstjsj 10y ago

> get absurd and intrusive medical evaluations just to get the pill. ? An annual gyno exam is a general best practice, whether birth control is involved or not.

kaitai 10y ago
That does not seem to be an evidence-based recommendation. Pap smears are recommended every 3-5 years, pelvic exams are not recommended by the American College of Physicians for healthy asymptomatic adult women, HPV test is recommended every five years in adult healthy women. Pap smears and pelvic exams more frequently than every five years are associated with a high false positive and false negative rate, incidental findings that lead to additional testing or treatment but turn out to be benign, discomfort, and higher cost. Overscreening is a real problem, and since HN has a lot of male readers I'll do a public service announcement (PSA, get it?!!) that prostate cancer overscreening doesn't lead to a mortality benefit on a population level (if you look at all-cause mortality) and leads to interventions that leave a lot of men incontinent and unable to enjoy their previous sex life [1]. If you have any symptoms, definitely go to the doctor -- screening in men with symptoms saves lives. Prostate cancer can be a killer. But just screening all healthy people of a certain age for breast, prostate, and cervical cancer every year actually leads to poorer health outcomes because we don't yet understand when to treat cancer aggressively and when to just ignore it. [1] http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1216568 http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1216568 Per 1000 men, screening all every 1-4 years for 10 years and then following through their treatment saves about 1 guy from dying, kills about 1 guy and puts 2 in the hospital from complications of biopsy and treatment, gives 3 heart attacks, and leaves 35 with bladder or sexual dysfunction problems.
- srtjstjsj 10y ago
  Pap and HPV are only two of several elements of well care. Since GPs often don't do gyno, but gynos can do GP care, a gyno often serves as a woman's GP. http://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Annual-Womens-Health-Care/Annual-Well-Woman-Exam-Infographic http://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Annual-Women...