#nurx

I put in my first request, double-checked that I entered everything in right before I saved, and checked what it all looked like in my profile. I woke up the next day to a message about what pharmacy they should send it to, and "Your Nurx profile shows the gender selected as male, but the drivers license provided shows the gender as female."

Now, I'm not about to post a photo of my ID, but my sex marker is, in fact, male. It's very clear in the photo I provided. I have never had an ID that said female. I responded that my ID does actually say male, and then answered their other questions.

I figure it's settled, right? No. The next day I check the app, and I have a message from another person. It's so long I'll just post it here.

I indicated WHAT? I checked my selections one more time to be really sure I entered this in right, and it still, guess what, looks like this:

So, on the third day, I finally got to a doctor, and we chose a birth control. It processed, got to the pharmacy, turned out to be $45 more than Nurx said it would be because it was changed to another brand at the pharmacy. They notify me, ask if I want to cancel, and try again free of charge. I select to do that.

Two days later I realize the only message I got since then was one asking for feedback about my canceled order. The app says I have no current requests. I go to where my previous requests are, and it lists my new request as being "resolved." IN WHAT WAY IS IT RESOLVED? I sent a message with an explanation about the cancelation and asked about my unresolved "resolved" request, and I don't expect them to answer until tomorrow morning. That's just the way they operate.

Here’s a list of websites to check out: 

Resources for accessible birth control (USA)

The Pill Club

SimpleHealth

Nurx

Alpha Medical

PRJKT RUBY

Hey Doctor

Hers

Lemonaid Health

Planned Parenthood

Nurx, a company that started out providing patients with remote birth control access, started selling at-home STI kits in July. According to Allison Hoffman, Nurx’s brand and communications lead, “There are people who unfortunately have had... negative or even traumatic experiences in the healthcare system. We’ve certainly heard that from our patients as well,” adding that at-home testing gives patients “a platform where you’re not necessarily facing the power dynamic of like sitting there with a doctor in a white coat and stethoscope.” Nurx offers a variety of at-home STI testing kits—some of which screen for STIs in the throat and rectum as well as in the blood and genitals, a rarity in most clinics. The home screening options include tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis, hepatitis C, and HIV. (Herpes screenings are not offered.)

These kits include swabs to collect cell samples and needles that allow patients to provide small blood samples, similar to insulin tests for diabetic patients. After collecting their samples, the patients send them back to the company in a prepaid envelope and then receive results in five to seven days, according to Hoffman. If a patient tests positive for an STI, the company provides remote antibiotic prescription service or helps patients find the in-person treatment they require.

The kits cost between $150 and $200 for patients without insurance and $75 for those who do have insurance and are available to Medicaid patients in California, Texas, and Illinois. In-clinic testing is often cheaper than this, so these prices are potentially prohibitive. Many insurance plans cover STI testing without cost sharing. And for uninsured patients, more cost-effective options are often available at places like Planned Parenthood and free clinics. However, in more rural parts of the U.S., facilities like those could be hours away, and Planned Parenthood’s funding crisis puts existing access into jeopardy.

Hoffman claims that in the first month that Nurx began offering at-home STI testing, the company found that its customers were more likely to test positive for STIs than patients who go to clinics in person, suggesting that the services might be reaching patients who have not been screened in the past, said Hoffman.

But there are concerns with at-home screening, especially since these services are still very new. One downside is the potential for patient error.

Apps that track your cycle like Natural Cycles is NOT actually birth control. It’s just cycle tracking.

Rachel Ralph works long hours at an accounting firm in Oakland, Calif., and coordinates much of her life via the apps on her phone.

So when she first heard several months ago that she could order her usual brand of birth control pills via an app, and have them delivered to her doorstep in a day or two, it seemed perfect. She was working 12-hour days.

"Food was delivered, dinner was often delivered," Ralph says. "Anything I could get sent to my house with little effort — the better."

Ralph ordered a three-month supply of pills via the app of a San Francisco-based company called NURX. It's one of several digital ventures, including Maven and Lemonaid Health, that now provide several types of hormonal contraception without requiring a live visit to a doctor or other health care provider.

Women using these services in cities say they like the speed and no-hassle privacy they get by making a purchase through the app. And in some rural areas where women's health clinics are few and far between, being able to buy prescription contraceptives online — starting at around $15 for a month's supply — can be not only much more private, but much more affordable and less time-consuming than driving an hour or more to the closest clinic, or paying for a doctor's appointment.

Birth Control Apps Find A Big Market In 'Contraception Deserts'

New app ships affordable birth control to women, no doctor's visit required

Whether it's a 30-year-old woman who has no time for doctor's visits, or an embarrassed teen who doesn't want to tell her parents she wants to use birth control, Nurx brings the doctor's visit to their palms and eliminates a trip to the pharmacy.

Nurx is a startup focused on making birth control more accessible through an app, according to a company statement.

After talking to one of Nurx's licensed doctors, either by its messaging feature or by phone, teens and women can get birth control shipped to their homes, according to Nurx's website. It automatically refills the prescription about every three months.

Users must answer a few medical questions and upload identification before getting a prescription. User information remains confidential, according to its website, and Nurx encrypts users' conversations and transactions.

"In North Carolina, girls at any age can get birth control from a medical provider and without a parent's permission, yet many do not get a prescription for fear of their parents finding out," Nurx said in its statement. "This birth control app makes it easy for teenagers to get birth control without their parents finding out."

Nurx lets users choose from several types of birth control, offering it through a combination pill, a progestin-only pill, a ring, a patch or emergency contraception. The cost of birth control can be as low as $15 for users without health insurance, while those with health insurance can get the birth control for free or pay only the co-payment.

"The greater goal is to improve access to patients but also to improve the efficiency of our health care system," Jessica Knox, the Nurx medical director, told ABC 11.

Nurx is now available in North Carolina, Texas, California, New York, Washington state, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

In the next few weeks, Nurx plans to expand to 20 more states, according to its statement.