Can You Get Birth Control from Your Primary Care Provider?

There are lots of reasons why birth control is difficult to access for many people. Sometimes it’s because you don’t have insurance or are underinsured, and you can’t afford to pay for your preferred method out of pocket. Sometimes it’s because you work 12-hour shifts at your job, and you don’t have time to make an appointment with a provider. Or maybe the case is that the closest provider’s office is far away and you don’t have a reliable form of transportation.

But there’s another reason why some may find birth control to be inaccessible.

Many folks assume that since birth control requires a prescription, you can walk into a provider’s office, say you want birth control, and they’ll give you a prescription. But a study from 2018 from the National Library of Medicine found the opposite: only 51% of family medicine physicians, only 32% of pediatricians, and less than 20% of internal medicine physicians actually prescribe birth control. 

One way to ensure that you’re seeing a provider that actually provides birth control, is to make an appointment to talk to a provider at your nearest The Right Time health center. Not only are you able to get free or low-cost access to all the methods of birth control, but you can also get same-day access to IUDs and implants (meaning you don’t have to make a second appointment to get your birth control in the future). 

So no, not every provider on Google can give you access to contraception that meets your needs and preferences. But the ones at The Right Time health centers can.