The recent erosion of reproductive rights across the United States is increasing the demand for vasectomy and causing female health care doctors to add vasectomy to the services provided to their patients.
DURHAM. N.C., March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As reproductive rights are steadily being eroded by state legislatures across the United States, the American health care system is not keeping up with the demand for vasectomy. Doctors who specialize in female reproductive health are now considering offering vasectomy services as an alternative strategy to prevent unplanned pregnancy.
Many vasectomy providers have experienced a quadrupling in the number of men seeking vasectomy after the US Supreme Court's decision to undermine years of legal precedence surrounding Roe vs Wade. To make matters worse, the recent decision by the state Supreme Court of Alabama providing the same legal protections to embryos as those afforded to children is causing the American public to fear further degradation of reproductive freedoms. Currently men seeking vasectomy are experiencing long wait times and high costs as barriers to timely vasectomy services. Health care providers who specialize in women's reproductive health are considering additional training in vasectomy to meet the increase in vasectomy demand and as additional tool to decrease the numbers of unplanned pregnancies.
Dr. Matthew Zerden is an Obstetrician Gynecologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina who has personally answered the call to increase access to vasectomy services. Dr. Zerden has been actively involved, professionally and politically, in reproductive healthcare and female surgical sterilization for the past twelve years. After the landmark Supreme Court decision of Dobbs vs Jackson Women's Health, he can no longer practice the full scope of his skillset in North Carolina. He knows from direct patient experience the impact unplanned pregnancies can have on patients and their families. As a result of his professional experiences, Dr. Zerden sought additional training in vasectomy. He is now able to offer vasectomy to his patients. In September of 2023, he opened the first vasectomy only practice in the Durham and Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. In this clinic, he exclusively provides single visit, minimally invasive vasectomy to patients who travel to his office from across the Carolinas and as far away as Virginia and South Carolina.
Dr. Zerden's efforts caught the attention of the North Carolina Obstetrical and Gynecological Society and he recently spoke at their 2024 annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr Zerden was asked to share ways in which OBGYN specialist can start providing vasectomy in their current practices. During the conference, Dr. Zerden highlighted shortages of vasectomy training and vasectomy access in the US:
- Most vasectomy procedures in the United States are performed by urologic specialist. A 2002 survey of vasectomy providers in the US revealed 79% of vasectomy procedures are performed by urologists and only 13% of vasectomy procedures are performed by family physicians (1).
- Newly trained urologic specialist are not comfortable performing office based vasectomy. A 2021 survey of urology training physicians revealed they were significantly less comfortable performing vasectomy in the office setting versus in the operating room. They blamed low numbers of vasectomy training cases and a lack of autonomy as barriers to their vasectomy training (2).
- Most primary care physicians are not provided vasectomy training during residency. A 2021 survey of US Primary Care Residency programs revealed fewer than 10% of Family Medicine residency programs offer vasectomy procedural training (3). No Obstetrics and Gynecology programs offer their residents training in vasectomy procedures.
- A 2019 survey revealed most urologist were unwilling to train non-urologist to perform vasectomy (2). These are the specialists who would be expected to train others to help increase access to vasectomy.
- Despite the Affordable Care Act, male patients have trouble accessing vasectomy services. As of 2020, 13% of adults ages 18 to 64 were uninsured, almost 50% of adults under the age of 65 have high deductible health plans, and up to 10% of health insurance companies do not offer vasectomy coverage. The net result of inadequate vasectomy coverage is that many men may not be able to afford a vasectomy.
Dr. Zerden succinctly demonstrated to members of the North Carolina Obstetrics and Gynecologic society that there is a bottle neck demand for vasectomy patients and men are having difficulties accessing vasectomy services. This is due to limited training for primary care physicians and urology trainees who are not comfortable providing vasectomy outside of the operating room. These two training limitations create barriers for the public's access to vasectomy services.
Vasectomy is ultimately a simple, outpatient primary care procedure that is highly effective at preventing unplanned pregnancy. It is a key part of a public health approach to limiting unplanned pregnancies. In his presentation, Dr. Zerden argued for an expansion of vasectomy training opportunities and challenged the OBGYN and Family Medicine Departments to provide vasectomy training to their residents. He also provided a strong argument to have vasectomy included in the contraceptive mandate provided by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
According to Dr. Zerden, "No physician is better motivated to provide vasectomy than the Ob/Gyn who must sit bedside and counsel the woman who is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy."
Dr. Zerden's presentation to the North Carolina Obstetrical & Gynecological Society was well received. He was consistently praised by his colleges for his dedication and determination to implement vasectomy as an Obstetrician Gynecologist. He is optimistic more Women's Health Care specialist will answer the call and begin providing vasectomy for the benefits of their patients and the greater American public.
About Dr Matthew Zerden
Matthew Zerden, MD, MPH, is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology with a subspecialty board-certification in Complex Family Planning. He practices in both North Carolina and Virginia. He opened the first vasectomy dedicated practice in the Chapel Hill and Durham Area and he exclusively provides single visit, minimally invasive vasectomy at that clinic. He also works as a practicing OBGYN in the hospital and clinics in the Triangle area.
He has personally experienced the erosion of women's reproductive rights within the state of North Carolina. He has been a strong advocate for patients at the bedside and within the halls of the North Carolina state legislature.
His academic appointments include: Clinical Assistant Professor of OBGYN at the UNC School of Medicine; Consulting Associate in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke School of Medicine; and Associate Professor and OBGYN Clerkship Director of the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Zerden received both his medical degree and his Master's Degree in Public Health from Harvard University. He completed his OBGYN residency and Complex Family Planning Fellowship at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.
For more information you can reach Dr. Zerden by email [email protected] or by calling his office (919) 328-2303.
His Choice Vasectomy Durham
Dr. Matthew Zerden
727 Eastowne Drive , Suite # 200A
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
References
1. Vasectomy in the United States, 2002. Barone MA, Hutchinson PL, Johnson CH, Hsia J, Wheeler J. J Urol. 2006;176(1):232-236.
2. Vasectomy: A Survey of Urologist's Opinions on Training Family Planning Providers. Xepoleas, Meredith D. BA, Nguyen, Brian T. MD, MSc, Patel, Jasmine MD. Obstetrics & Gynecology: May 2020 - Volume 135 - Issue - p 101S-102S
3. Improving resident learning on vasectomy: a national survey on urology resident vasectomy training. Kathryn E Wagner, Mary E Soyster, Christian Bartels, Stanton Honig, Brooke A Harnisch. Can J Urol. 2021 Dec;28(6):10941-10945
4. Vasectomy Training in Family Medicine Residency Programs: A National Survey of Residency Program Directors. Jasmine Pate , MD, MSc, Brian T. Nguyen, MD, Grace Shih, Maya Or, Diane M. Harper, MD. MPH Fam Med. 2022;54(6):438-443.
5. National Center For Health Statistics Fact sheet July 2019. CDC Office of Planning, Budget and Legislation.
SOURCE His Choice Vasectomy Durham
Share this article