Changes in local access to mifepristone dispensed by community pharmacies for medication abortion in Ontario: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although mifepristone for medication abortion has been available in Canada since a regulatory change in 2017, leading to its rapid uptake, the effects of this availability on regional access to abortion are unknown. We sought to examine how community pharmacy dispensation of mifepristone affected distribution of abortion services over time in Ontario, Canada.

Methods

We used linked health administrative data to identify a cohort of all medication and procedural abortions provided in Ontario from 2017 to 2022, defined by outpatient mifepristone dispensations and abortion billing, diagnostic, and procedure codes. We evaluated changes over time in the annual proportion of community pharmacies that dispensed mifepristone and the availability and distribution of medica

SUBMITTER: Schummers L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11991852 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature