Closing the gap: actualising shared decision-making through effective medication abortion patient follow-up care

BACKGROUND: Effective care dearth in USA healthcare systems can be augmented by patient engagement and shared decision-making (SDM). These effective care strategies can facilitate medical abortion follow-up care (ensuring patients are not experiencing a continuing pregnancy) and follow-up options access. LOCAL PROBLEM: The quality improvement project clinic had a state-mandated waiting period, requiring additional visits. This delayed care for all abortion patients, creating travel, and cost barriers. The clinic had some of the lowest medical abortion follow-up rates out of its entire national network. METHODS: Four ‘Plan-Do-Study-Act’ (PDSA) cycles built on clinical changes, implementing an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality serum human chorionic gonadotropin guideline. Medical abortion patient cohort size doubled during each PDSA cycle. INTERVENTIONS: Through four interventions (team engagement, patient engagement, Beta follow-up and contraception SDM), standardised follow-up care was integrated into clinic workflow with contraception SDM tools and an Option Grid. RESULTS: Most intervention measures were successful, with staff offering follow-up options counselling to all medical abortion patients by the end of the project. The Beta follow-up rate (84%) was higher than the overall follow-up rate (52%–73%), but the goal of a 92% overall follow-up rate was not met. Contraception SDM streamlined counselling but long-acting reversible contraception insertion rates did not increase. CONCLUSIONS: Effective care enabled the majority of medical abortion patients to choose Beta follow-up as their preferred follow-up method, especially those with a travel barrier. Beta follow-up gives assurance to close the follow-up gap over time.