Guidance

Introduction ‘Big data’ analytics solutions are key to what the future has in store for ART professionals. These solutions are already here and the specialised technology platforms that use such solutions are currently operational or under development. The main advantage of big data analytics is that they can accurately predict individual patient success rates based […]

Telehealth for patients Like much of healthcare, telehealth replaces medical appointments when and where possible, reducing costs and creating greater access. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global demand for digital technology, including telehealth for fertility treatment. Digital technology addresses costs for fertility patients by facilitating ways of receiving information. For example, home testing

The digitalisation of communication offers clinics innovative ways of communicating and supporting patients. Indeed, some progress has been made by various clinics in providing virtual communication channels to their patients through apps, patient-only areas on websites and via community groups on social media or via forums. Preliminary caution Caution should be exercised first and foremost

Andreia Trigo, Dimitris Kavakas, Karenna Woods, Bola Grace Abstract It has been over 40 years since the birth of the first IVF baby and since then, rapid advances in assisted reproductive technology have taken place. Technology has evolved, facilitating microfertilisation, cryopreservation with higher thawing survival rates and embryo monitoring and selection. Despite these advances, take

Introduction Several studies report that most people are misinformed about reproductive health (1-6) and the age-related fertility decline, and that providing this information has the potential to affect unintended childlessness (11,12,13,14,15). Other studies also suggest that only a small proportion of patients seeking fertility treatment are aware of the dramatic impact of age and other

Introduction Prior to 2020, the fertility industry had been slow to embrace telehealth and other technologies. Unlike our more agile colleagues, assisted reproductive technology (ART) practitioners had favoured a more traditional approach, largely due to regulation and user and provider opposition (1). However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed this, requiring fertility clinics to rapidly implement virtual

Introduction There are a number of ways in which fertility clinics can communicate with their patients online. It is worth checking with all the professional bodies of which you are a member for specific guidance and advisories. You should also check with your local medical council about advertising. The medical councils in some countries prohibit

Veronica Montgomery, Julie Morgan, Andreia Trigo Abstract In this chapter we explore the many forms of virtual communications that fertility clinics may adopt to communicate with infertility patients. The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance for clinics on best practice to ensure transparency for patients enabling them to make good, safe choices when

Introduction This section puts the case that donor conception is significantly different from fertility procedures undertaken with a couple or the individual’s own gametes. In many ways it is not ‘fertility’ treatment at all but a different route to parenthood and needs to be acknowledged as such.People considering donor conception will need to engage with

Introduction A growing number of patients travel abroad to undergo fertility treatments – a worldwide phenomenon called Cross-Border Reproductive Care (CBRC). A systematic review (1) shows that the main reasons for choosing CBRC are related to regulatory, ethical or legal restrictions in the country of origin, and that some additional factors include a lack of