title: An intervention to improve advance emergency contraceptive prescribing practices among academic primary care physicians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary care physicians care for reproductive-aged women, yet do not routinely counsel women about or prescribe contraceptives, including emergency contraception (EC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a pre-/post-study to design to assess whether the proportion of primary care physicians who counseled women about and prescribed EC increased 6 months after a peer-led intervention with educational and reminder components. Participants included 36 residents and attending physicians at an academically affiliated internal medicine practice from July 2004 to June 2005 (when prescription was required for EC in New York). Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 37% of participants had counseled women about EC and 34% had prescribed EC in the prior month. After the intervention, 80% of participants had counseled women about EC (p<.001) and 66% had prescribed EC (p=.03) in the prior month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Six months after a peer-led intervention including educational and reminder components, the proportion of primary care physicians who had counseled women about and prescribed EC in the past month increased significantly.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10467, USA. Mindy.Sobota@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mindy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sobota
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Warkol
authors.forename: Marji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Felise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Milan
authors.forename: Eleanor B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Julia H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Arnsten
authors.forename: Hillary V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Kunins
mesh_terms: D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D016912:Levonorgestrel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013333:Student Health Services
chemical_list: D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital; D016912:Levonorgestrel