An intervention to improve advance emergency contraceptive prescribing practices among academic primary care physicians

Background: Primary care physicians care for reproductive-aged women, yet do not routinely counsel women about or prescribe contraceptives, including emergency contraception (EC). Study Design: We used a pre-/post-study to design to assess whether the proportion of primary care physicians who counseled women about and prescribed EC increased 6 months after a peer-led intervention with educational and reminder components. Participants included 36 residents and attending physicians at an academically affiliated internal medicine practice from July 2004 to June 2005 (when prescription was required for EC in New York). Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire. Results: At baseline, 37% of participants had counseled women about EC and 34% had prescribed EC in the prior month. After the intervention, 80% of participants had counseled women about EC (p<.001) and 66% had prescribed EC (p=.03) in the prior month. Conclusion: Six months after a peer-led intervention including educational and reminder components, the proportion of primary care physicians who had counseled women about and prescribed EC in the past month increased significantly.