Linda W. Prine, MD and Christi Ray, MPH, MD. Department of Family Medicine, Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice, 16 E. 16th Street, New York, NY 10003, 212-924-7744, Lindaprine@earthlink.net

A new survey of graduated trainees from the Planned Parenthood of NYC Clinician Training Initiative (CTI) indicates increased numbers of family physicians providing abortions. A previous survey in 2000 showed that very few of the graduates of the program were providing abortions. Two major changes occurred between the first and the second survey, affecting the ability of these doctors to become providers after graduation from the CTI Program. One was the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the medication that causes a “medical” abortion. The other was the establishment of two grant funded programs that helped physicians with abortion training to address obstacles to providing abortions: colleague and staff resistance, malpractice insurance, reimbursement, and state regulations of clinic settings. This presentation will report on differences between the two survey results, describing the impact on the availability of abortion care in primary care settings in the New York City area. Until now, other studies have not shown that the availability of mifepristone has increased the numbers of abortion providers. This presentation will review the many issues that the grant-funded programs addressed, thereby enabling more family practice physicians to become abortion providers. It will also demonstrate why this model of helping providers address obstacles to abortion implementation should be used in future efforts to address the shortage of abortion providers.

Learning Objectives: