Patient-centered Contraceptive Counseling and Prescribing.

Learning how to best meet a patient's contraceptive needs improves her chances of using her birth control consistently and is crucial to providing patient-centered care. The best contraceptive method for an individual patient is the one that is safe and that she is most comfortable using. Women's health care providers must be equipped to talk to each patient about her needs and options. The shared decision-making model in contraceptive counseling allows the patient and provider to work together in order to meet a patient's needs while remaining medically safe.