Eviflow makes emergency contraception consultations more discreet

A web-based tool is helping make consultations for emergency contraception more discreet and consistent in Swiss pharmacies, SRF reports. Eviflow allows customers to answer sensitive questions on a screen before speaking with pharmacy staff.

The morning-after pill is used around 100,000 times a year in Switzerland when a condom breaks or a contraceptive pill is missed. Pharmacies provide it without a prescription after a consultation that can include questions about when unprotected sex occurred, the date of the last menstrual period and whether hormonal contraception is being used.

Esther Spinatsch, a research associate and doctoral student at the University of Basel’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, developed the idea after women identified discretion as a barrier in surveys following consultations. She also found that the quality of counselling varied between pharmacies and advisers.

Eviflow stands for an evidence-based, clearly structured counselling process. Users can indicate in advance whether they want information about contraceptive methods, sexually transmitted infections or how the morning-after pill works. This allows pharmacy staff to prepare for the consultation.

The tool can be used through a website or discreetly on a mobile phone in a pharmacy. Users do not have to enter personal details. Pharmacies can also save time because the information needed for a treatment decision is already available, said Lukas Meister, president of the Basel-City pharmacists’ association.

Eviflow has been available since August and is currently used by about 40 pharmacies. Use is free until October 2026, after which pharmacies will be charged according to the number of consultations carried out. Customers visiting a pharmacy that does not use the tool can still provide their answers as a PDF.

The tool is available in German, French, Italian and English, with Spanish and Russian among the languages planned. Anonymous data collected through its use may also support future research. Spinatsch and her team are considering applications in areas including flu vaccinations, diabetes and erectile dysfunction.

Personal counselling remains important, particularly because contraceptive problems can sometimes be linked to experiences of violence. Eviflow addresses this issue and provides links to information on sexual violence, date-rape drugs and relevant counselling and support services. Spinatsch also stressed that emergency contraception should not be confused with abortion: the pill only delays ovulation.