Vagina owners, rejoice — birth control is now easier than ever to get ahold of.
Nurx is a new app that allows women to order birth control and have it delivered to their doors, according to the app’s website. App users first fill out an online questionnaire about their medical history, which is then sent to a doctor. Though there is also an option for app users to call or FaceTime a doctor, the app allows physicians to review the information and write a prescription, all without physically meeting the patient.
The service and shipping are free to anyone who has healthcare, the website states, but the app is currently only available in California. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant app offers vaginal rings, combination patches and a wide array of birth control pills. It also automatically refills users’ prescriptions.
As wonderful as this sounds, not everybody supports Nurx. According to its website, the American Medical Association recommends a “valid” relationship and “face-to-face examination” between a patient and their doctor before a prescription is issued. This is a valid concern.
Nurx’s main appeal is its potential to manage birth control. Streamlining the process of ordering and receiving birth control is one of the app’s much-appreciated functions. Though nobody really talks about it, the process of getting birth control could be much less of an inconvenience. There are so many things that could go wrong in between getting being prescribed birth control and actually taking it.
But the AMA is right. There’s something about a patient-doctor human connection that communicating via app can’t replace.
The clearest benefit of meeting with a doctor is being able to freely talk to them about birth control. An in-person examination is difficult to replace. Monitoring a patient personally rather than remotely can provide a more detailed picture of their needs. Additionally, it’s important to keep checking in with a doctor, as birth control can have some serious side effects.
Furthermore, Nurx asks users to self-describe their health. In this age of WebMD and worst-case scenarios, a doctor’s firsthand evaluation is another way for patients to make sure they’re getting the medication they need — not the medication they think they need.
Different bodies may react differently to the same form of birth control. Finding the right type of birth control can often take more than a few tries. As any medication commercial would say, it’s best to consult with a doctor about what kind of medication is right for you.
In a way, the app is a symptom of how complicated the U.S. healthcare system is. Getting birth control shouldn’t be such a complicated endeavor that there needs to be an app to simplify it. If the system worked optimally, Nurx wouldn’t even exist. It’s easier for someone to go into the emergency room for the flu and get medicine than it is for a woman to get birth control. More than half of this country’s population has working vaginas, and the United States still doesn’t have a simple way for women to get the birth control they need.
Despite its drawbacks, there are still great benefits to this app. Nurx de-stigmatizes birth control by making it more readily accessible. It also easily facilitates conversations with medical professionals that could be stressful for people who feel uncomfortable in front of doctors. This alternative route of contact allows people to bypass the possible trouble and stress of seeing a doctor.
Nurx frees women from being at the mercy of a pharmacy’s schedule. They don’t have to take time out of their day to venture to pick up a prescription that may or may not be correct or on time. Since birth control is often specific to the day, women can’t afford to wait for it. With Nurx, this isn’t a problem. According to the website, the app has a one-to-three-day delivery date and the company is working on two-hour delivery. Those are some speedy drugs.
The ideal situation would be for Nurx users to see their doctors face-to-face for checkups, and then use Nurx to automatically refill and deliver prescriptions to their homes. Once women know what’s safe for them, they’re good to go.
Yes, the app is also a symptom of our increasing laziness, but it’s hard not to be exhausted after going through the hassle of getting birth control.
This app is one sign that birth control doesn’t need to be treated as a big deal. Nurx is a great step forward in expanding birth control’s availability. It’s educating people about their own bodies and making birth control available for women who need to use it.
Of course, nothing can replace the diagnosis of a good ol’ physical doctor. To a doctor, you’re not just another profile on an app — you’re a person with a history, and you’re treated as such. Everyone with a vagina has the right to accessible birth control, and quality birth control at that.
