MIFEPRISTONE READY: UPTAKE OF MIFEPRISTONE MEDICAL ABORTION TRAINING IN CANADA

Objectives In 2012, only 60 doctors provided medical abortion in Canada. Mifepristone-based medical abortion is a gold standard that has now been available in Canada since 2016. While no longer mandatory, the Health Canada/SOGC/CFPC/CPhA Medical Abortion Training Program is the only comprehensive training program in the country, and this program meets the Health Canada definition of "appropriate training". We will provide the current data on training across Canada. Methods This is a descriptive study of the participants in the SOGC Medical Abortion Training Program. Data is classified by province/territory of practice, as well as membership/practice type. Updated information to May 31, 2019 will be provided at the time of presentation. Results As of September 2018, there were 1324 prescribers (physicians and nurse practitioners) as well as 2273 pharmacists trained to prescribe and dispense mifepristone. There were prescribers in every province and territory, including PEI, where there were, until recently, no surgical abortion services. Only Nunavut does not have a pharmacist trained in medical abortion. In comparison to the number of OB/GYNs in Canada, approximately 11.7% of Obstetrician/Gynaecologists were trained in Canada within the first 18 months of availability of mifepristone. Conclusions There has been an over 2200% increase in the number of possible medical abortion providers in Canada since the approval of combination mifepristone-misoprostol. This is reflective of a successful launch of the Medical Abortion Training Program, as well as a coordinated integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) program and community of practice.