WISCONSIN — Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin on Monday announced they will expand birth control services for Medicaid eligible patients through their app, Planned Parenthood Direct.

About 55% of Wisconsin’s Planned Parenthood patients are on Medicaid. Statewide, there are over 1 million Medicaid enrollees as of Oct. 2022.

Now, the app will help these patients gain further access to reproductive care outside of visiting a Planned Parenthood center.

Through the PP Direct app, patients can order birth control or receive treatment for things like a urinary tract infection, all from the convenience of their phone. Planned Parenthood launched the app in 2020 with the goal of improving access to birth control, regardless of someone’s address.

During the pandemic, the “unmet need” of reproductive health care was only exacerbated across the Badger State.

Planned Parenthood officials pointed to recent studies from the Guttmacher Institute. Those studies found the pandemic prevented or delayed about half of family planning patients from receiving birth control or related reproductive care. This was especially true for those experiencing financial hardship.

Expanding access to the app is another way Planned Parenthood is aiming to combat this issue.

“At Planned Parenthood, we believe part of having a healthy community is making sure everybody has access to the health care they need — no matter what. We are excited to build on our history of reducing barriers to improve health care access, particularly with the need we see today,” said Tanya Atkinson, CEO and president of PPWI. “As politicians work to restrict access to critical reproductive health care, the Planned Parenthood Direct app is one more tool people can use to get the care they need from trusted health care experts, no matter where they live.”

Once patients download the app, they can select a service. Then, they’ll answer some basic questions which will be submitted. Representatives said a clinician will follow up within 24 hours to help with the request.

In the case of a birth control request, a patient will be sent their method via mail. This is a part of PPWI’s Quarterly Contraceptive Kit program, which sends a three-month supply of birth control directly to a patient’s home; it also includes emergency contraception and condoms.

For a UTI treatment request, a prescription will be sent to a patient’s local pharmacy.

Patients can download the PP Direct app for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.