What kinds of sexual and reproductive health care services can you get via telehealth?

There are so many types of services you can get via telehealth, including lots of sexual and reproductive health care ones. These include:

1. Birth control

   There are a bunch of telehealth companies out there that exist to make getting birth control easier for people, including Hers, GoodRx, Lemonaid Health, Nurx, Pandia Health, Pill Club, PillPack, Planned Parenthood Direct, PRJKT RUBY, Simple Health, and Twentyeight Health. They’re all a little bit different in terms of what birth control methods they offer, how they work, and where they’re available (we’ve got the full scoop here), but the gist is this: you answer some health questions online, a health care provider reviews your information and decides what type of birth control they’d recommend for you, they prescribe it to you if appropriate, and it gets mailed directly to your door. That’s it.

   (Keep in mind that some services offer virtual visits with a provider and some don’t. Also, some of these companies don’t prescribe birth control but will work with you to get your birth control delivered to you if you already have a prescription from your own provider.)

2. Emergency contraception

   Lots of the telehealth companies that offer birth control also offer emergency contraception. Find out which ones here.

3. STI testing and treatment

   Yes, that’s right. Some telehealth companies will actually mail you an STI testing kit that you can use all by yourself at home to take samples. Then you just mail in your samples and get your results online. Companies that offer this type of STI testing include Nurx (check out this video explaining how their process works), LetsGetChecked, myLAB Box, and Everlywell. Some of these companies also offer treatment for STIs if you test positive.

4. Treatment for UTIs, yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis

   GoodRx, Lemonaid, Planned Parenthood Direct, some insurance companies, and other services will provide consultation and UTI treatment without requiring you to physically go see a provider.

   For consultation with a provider and treatment of yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis, check out wisp and virtuwell.

For more info on telehealth and what it can do for you, here’s an article all about it.