VIDEO: What physicians should know about prescribing medication abortion

BOSTON — Although legislative restrictions make it challenging to prescribe medication abortion, “it is definitely possible” for internal medicine physicians to do, Cynthia H. Chuang, MD, MSc, FACP, said at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting.

“The regulatory space has gotten very complicated, so people need to understand and learn about all the local regulations that may be important in whether or not they decide to prescribe medication abortion,” Chuang, a professor of medicine and public health sciences at Pennsylvania State University, said.

Chuang has been in medical practice for 25 years. When she was in medical school, Chuang said that 89% of United States counties did not have an abortion provider. That percentage remained the same right up to before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Chuang.

“Unfortunately, after all of these years, we still have a paucity of abortion providers in this country,” she said. “That has only gotten worse with the abortion bans across many states in the United States. So, I think if internists are interested in providing abortion care, it’s something that we can definitely learn and train to do.”

Reference:

• Chuang C. Medication abortion in 2024: What internal medicine physicians need to know (To prescribe or refer). Presented at: ACP Internal Medicine Meeting; April 18-20, 2024; Boston.