Comparing Patient Telephone Callback Rates for Different Hormonal Birth Control Delivery Systems

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the number of office telephone callbacks in the first 3 months after initiating use of the vaginal ring, the transdermal patch, or an oral contraceptive. If a patient called back, the reason for her call was noted. Patients were prospectively followed from sites in New Jersey and Florida for 3 months after initiation of hormonal contraception (oral, transdermal, vaginal) and the number of callbacks for each method was assessed. Before study recruitment, the patients had either never used or discontinued hormonal contraception for at least 1 month. All patients were given standard counseling, which included reference handouts specific to their chosen form of contraception. The number of callbacks for patients on oral contraceptives was 30/96 (26 patients, 4 of the 26 with 2 callbacks each); for the transdermal patch, 20/40 (17 patients, 3 of the 17 with 2 callbacks each); and for the vaginal ring, 11/72 (11 patients). Pearson chi2 analysis revealed that all 3 groups were significantly different from each other (P = 0.0004). Most patients called back for side effects related to their method of choice, and some patients called back more than once. Rate of callbacks after initiation of hormonal contraception was the least with the vaginal ring. Use of oral contraception, often considered the gold standard, resulted in a callback rate that was midway between the number of callbacks for the vaginal ring and the number of callbacks for the transdermal patch. The lower observed rate of callbacks with the vaginal ring compared with oral and transdermal contraception may provide clinicians the confidence that this method is well tolerated by their patients.