Can teenagers get emergency contraception in the ER?

For teenagers who are too young to obtain emergency contraception without a prescription, a hospital emergency room may be the place to go for the method. However, a survey of physicians who care for children and adolescents in emergency rooms indicates that the pills are prescribed infrequently in that setting. (1) Although 85% of the 282 physicians who completed the online survey said they had prescribed emergency contraception for adolescents, 81% of this group had done so fewer than five times. Respondents acknowledged a wide range of barriers to provision, most frequently, concern about lack of follow-up (72% cited this concern). Four in 10 reported that it does not occur to them to discuss the method with a teenager who visits the emergency room for a concern related to a potential STD; one in four said that they do not think to discuss it with a teenager reporting recent unprotected sex. Six questions measured physicians' knowledge about the method; 43% of respondents gave three or more incorrect answers. Interventions that improve physicians' understanding of emergency contraception, the researchers suggest, might also improve access for teenagers.

(1.) Goyal M, Zhao H and Mollen C. Exploring emergency contraception knowledge, prescription practices, and barriers to prescription for adolescents in the emergency department, Pediatrics, 2009, 123(3):765-770.

FYI is compiled and written by Dore Hollander, executive editor of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.