Nurx.com Launches in Pennsylvania, Offers Free Birth Control

  PHILADELPHIA, PA - 02/07/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Nurx is a telemedicine startup, based in San Francisco, focused on making birth control, as well as Truvada for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) more accessible to everyone through an app. With the app, users can get a prescription from a doctor and have their medication delivered right to their door. On Tuesday, February 7, Nurx will begin operating in Pennsylvania and offer free birth control to new users in the Keystone State through the end of the month. 

In more than 100 countries around the world, women are able to access birth control without a prescription. However, in the United States, the process is a much more complicated and burdensome endeavor. There are about three million unintended pregnancies each year in the United States. This motivated founders, Hans Gangeskar and Dr. Edvard Engesaeth, to launch Nurx, making the process of obtaining birth control much easier for women here today.

“Research shows that the easier and more affordable birth control is, the more women will use it,” said Hans Gangeskar, cofounder and CEO of Nurx.

Free Birth Control Promotion:
Using the promo code ‘PENNSYLVANIA’, new users will get $30 of credit toward birth control through Nurx. To get the deal, users must visit Nurx.com, create a Nurx account, pick their brand of choice, and enter promo code ‘PENNSYLVANIA’ at checkout. The promotion is valid through February 28, 2017, and is for new users only. Discount does not apply to emergency contraception.

According to Nurx’s Medical Director, Dr. Jessica Knox, "Women should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops just to access birth control. The pill remains available by prescription only throughout the United States today, but with our app, we’re making birth control more accessible than ever."

How the App Works for Birth Control:

1. User Chooses Brand - The user selects their brand, answers a few questions, enters their insurance and shipping info.

2. Doctor Reviews Submission - a Nurx partner physician reviews the request and writes a prescription.

3. Delivered to Customer - The prescribed medication is delivered right to the user's door.

The app works for both new and existing birth control users and the service and shipping are often free to anyone with health care coverage. For uninsured patients, Nurx waives the consultation fee. The delivery is still free and Nurx can connect the user with some brands for as low as $15.

“With our app, we are allowing women to access their birth control on their own terms,” said Engesaeth, a medical doctor and cofounder of Nurx.

Truvada for PrEP Through Nurx
In addition to birth control, Nurx also makes Truvada for Pre-exposure prophylaxis available through the app. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, better known as ‘PrEP’, is an HIV prevention method in which people who do not have HIV, take a daily pill (Truvada) to reduce their chances of infection. Studies have shown Truvada for PrEP to be 92%-99% effective at preventing transmission of the virus.

A recent report in the Oxford Journal found PrEP to be as safe as taking Aspirin, however, access to this revolutionary drug is a problem for many at-risk people today. According to the CDC, 1.2 million people should be on Truvada yet, as of 2015, only 21,000 were on the drug.

Federal health officials estimate that about one third of primary care doctors and nurses are actually unaware of Truvada, further impeding access to the drug. “Unfortunately, access is still a major problem for many who need and want to be on PrEP. We are changing the game in the fight against HIV by making PrEP more accessible through our app,” said Jayne Gagliano, PrEP Services Coordinator at Nurx.

About Nurx
Nurx is a telemedicine startup based in San Francisco, CA, focusing on making Truvada for PrEP and birth control more accessible to everyone through their app. With the app, users can get a prescription from a doctor and have their medication delivered right to their door. The app is currently available in California, New York, Washington state, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Nurx also plans to expand to more than 20 states in the coming weeks. With the rapid expansion, Nurx is currently hiring full-stack, front-end, and dev-ops engineers, who are also passionate about increasing access to health care. Nurx engineers will be foundational architects in building the tools and systems needed in a new model of health care access around the world. For more information, visit Nurx.com.

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