Telemedicine Early Medical Abortion at Home: Evaluation

This document describes an evaluation of Scotland's telemedicine early medical abortion at home (EMAH) program, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, which allows patients to receive consultations and abortion medications remotely, was assessed for safety, effectiveness, and the experiences of patients and staff. The evaluation employed a national cohort study, surveys, interviews, and data analysis. Findings revealed high success rates, patient satisfaction, and no significant rise in complications, indicating the program's safety and efficacy. While the program improved access to care and was well-received, concerns about missed ectopic pregnancy diagnoses and safeguarding issues were noted. The evaluation resulted in 40 recommendations to enhance abortion care, including the continuation of home-administered mifepristone and standardized patient information. Despite some challenges, the telemedicine approach for EMAH was deemed cost-effective and positively received, with particular benefits for those in rural and remote areas. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: The Scottish Government (The Scottish Government)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Generic research method
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: March 2023

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes