New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals have launched telehealth abortion access, becoming the first public health system in the nation to do so.
Patients can access abortion care through Virtual Expresscare, the health system's telehealth platform, according to an Oct. 2 news release Mr. Adams' office shared with Becker's. They can speak with a licensed healthcare professional by phone or video, on demand, for an assessment and counseling. If appropriate, patients can receive a medication abortion kit at their New York City address within a few days.
Patients must attest to being in New York City at the time of the call and when they take the pill, and medication abortion is only available up to 10 weeks into pregnancy.
Telehealth abortion visits are available seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visits will be covered like any other service, and uninsured patients will be connected to financial counselors who can help them enroll for health insurance coverage or financial assistance.
"By offering access to assessment and counseling for abortion care — as well as the possibility of a remote medication abortion — through Virtual ExpressCare, we are navigating around barriers people face in coming for in-person appointments and further opening up access," Marisa Nádas, MD the health system's reproductive health clinical lead and associate medical director of Virtual ExpressCare, said in the news release.