In Trump’s America, reproductive healthcare is becoming less and less accessible.
Fortunately, technology startups are committed to bridging the gap in reproductive healthcare. CB Insights reports startups have raised over a billion dollars in recent years to benefit women’s healthcare. Whether it’s about preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases or educating young people about sexual health, there’s an app for that.
goPuff
HelloGiggles reports the startup goPuff, “aims to deliver the drugstore items you need in under 30 minutes” in 20 cities and counting, often as late as 4:30 a.m..
Although service was created to deliver all different kinds of drugstore store products, it also includes birth control products, making things like condoms and Plan B accessible from your smartphone even late into the night when drugstores are closed. However, the service’s founders were extremely clear in their intention to make sexual health accessible.
“We hope that by providing the health products and sex positive products women need, women will feel empowered in their daily lives knowing they have consistent access,” goPuff explained in a statement for HelloGiggles.
myLAB Box
According to Vice, myLAB Box allows patients to test for STIs in the comfort of their own homes without needing to schedule an appointment and travel to a physical doctor’s office. The kits, which begin at $79, tests for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and the sexually transmitted parasite trichomonas. In addition to urine tests, there are also kits for testing oral, anal, and genital samples.
Patients will receive a kit in the mail, which provides detailed instructions on how to draw samples using swabs. If patients have ordered an HIV test, they will also draw blood by pricking their fingertip. Once the samples have been collected, the patient will send the pre-paid envelope (included in the package) to a lab to be tested. If the results are positive, patients will receive a call for an STI counselor and a free telemedicine consultation from a local doctor, who can prescribe treatment options.
Planned Parenthood Direct
Some United States residents are in for a treat. In recent years, Planned Parenthood affiliates launched apps for patients residing in Minnesota and California, Vice also reports.
Modeled after Planned Parenthood-Care, an online service for patients in Minnesota and Washington, Planned Parenthood Direct-California offers birth control and STI treatment. To obtain up to a year’s supply of birth control, you’ll need to report blood pressure reading. For STI treatment, you can have your prescription sent to the pharmacy of your choice; this service requires a $15 fee in addition to average cost of your prescription.
Real Talk
Smithsonian Magazine reports the educational mobile app, called Real Talk, hopes to teach middle schoolers about their bodies through storytelling. It uses stories from real teens to spark conversations students may be too embarrassed or shy to ask their teachers at school.
The app is a project run by MyHealthEd, Inc., a nonprofit which uses technology to transform sexual health for teenagers. Real Talk will launch later this year in the fall and has since received funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Health.
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