Improving combined contraceptive pill/oral contraceptives prescribing in general practice

Introduction Eighty per cent of contraceptive care occurs in the general practice setting. UK Medical Eligibility Criteria provides clear guidelines for the safe provision of appropriate contraception. The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence offer further recommendations for initiation and continuation of the combined contraceptive pill/oral contraceptives. Method and analysis Using the Egton Medical Information Systems database of an inner city, average size general practice we performed a retrospective analysis of combined contraceptive pill/oral contraceptives consultations to identify areas of substandard prescribing. Through three subsequent improvement cycles we demonstrated that the safety of combined contraceptive pill/oral contraceptives prescribing could be enhanced by consistent application of UK Medical Eligibility Criteria. By encouraging general practitioners to promote safe sex and use local long-acting reversible contraception options we were able to enhance the quality of consultations as dictated by national guidelines. Regular education and use of an amended EMIS template (to include UK Medical Eligibility Criteria) enabled us to improve both the safety and quality of community-combined contraceptive pill/oral contraceptives prescribing in a sustainable fashion.