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The digital transformation of sexual and reproductive health care
  1. Paula Baraitser1,2
  1. 1SH:24 Community Interest Company (CIC), London, UK
  2. 2Camberwell Sexual Health Centre, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Paula Baraitser; paula_baraitser{at}mac.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsrh-2025-202735

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    A contraceptive service, 12/09/2050

    A contraceptive service, 12/09/2050: The doctor reads the referrals from the automated postpartum contraception service in which an intelligent automaton has completed 200 routine telephone calls. The intelligent automaton has taken a contraceptive history, listened to concerns and made personalised contraceptive recommendations based on the medical information and genomic data in the primary care record. Most cases have been managed by the automaton, but five have been referred with questions. The doctor reviews the computer’s suggestions, checks the literature review that has been automatically retrieved for each query, and authorises the computer’s suggestions. For the morning’s intrauterine device (IUD) clinic list, each person has already had a machine-driven ultrasound with an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated report on uterine morphology that recommends IUD type. There is an attached clinical history and digital counselling session completed by each patient at home. It looks like a busy day….

    Background

    Digital care (the use of computing platforms, connectivity, software and sensors for healthcare) in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) has developed in parallel with this Journal. Database searches for publications containing the words ‘digital’ and ‘family planning’ show three publications on this subject in 2001 rising to 262 in 2023. The rapid rise in publications from 2019 suggests the impact of COVID-19 on …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors PB was solely responsible for writing this Personal View article.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests PB is medical director of SH:24, a not-for-profit, online sexual health service providing online testing for sexually transmitted infections and online contraception funded by the UK National Health Service.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.