One year ago, the Reproductive Health Hotline (ReproHH) answered its first call. 

What began as an ambitious effort to provide clinicians with rapid, evidence-based reproductive health consultation has quickly become a trusted resource for healthcare professionals nationwide. 

In our first year, ReproHH answered nearly 350 confidential clinical questions from physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, pharmacists, community health workers, and other healthcare professionals across the country. Each call represented a clinician seeking the best possible care for a patient—and an opportunity to bring evidence-based expertise directly into clinical decision-making. 

Let's take a look at our first year of calls.

Some of our findings aligned with what we anticipated from our initial needs assessment, while others surprised us. Although contraception-related questions made up a substantial portion of our calls, sexually transmitted infections emerged as our most common call topic, accounting for 24% of all inquiries. 

Much of this volume was driven by questions about syphilis, including interpretation of RPR results, distinguishing reinfection from new infection, management during pregnancy, and congenital syphilis. As public health departments across the country face resource constraints while syphilis rates continue to rise, we're proud to provide clinicians with rapid access to expert guidance when they need it most. 

Questions about menstrual and abnormal uterine bleeding were our second most common topic (19%), reflecting the complexity of evaluating bleeding across the reproductive lifespan. Contraception (16%) and abortion-related care (12%) also represented major areas of need, alongside miscarriage management, vaginitis, menopause and hormone therapy, cancer screening, prenatal care, and gynecologic procedures. 

More than half of our callers (54%) were physicians, while nearly one-third (29%) were nurse practitioners. We also heard from physician associates, midwives, nurses, pharmacists, community health workers, and others. 

From the beginning, we envisioned ReproHH as a resource for the broad reproductive healthcare workforce. Our first-year data show that clinicians across disciplines—from physicians and nurse practitioners to pharmacists, midwives, and community health workers—are turning to the hotline for timely, evidence-based support. 

The majority of callers (53%) worked in community health centers and clinics, followed by private practices (19%) and student health centers (15%). 

These findings highlight the important role frontline outpatient clinicians play in providing sexual and reproductive healthcare. Many callers work in settings where specialist consultation is not readily available. For these clinicians, access to on-demand support can help answer complex questions while a patient is still in the exam room.

One of the most encouraging findings from our first year is that ReproHH serves clinicians at every stage of their careers. While 34% of callers had been in practice for five years or less, 27% had been practicing for more than 20 years. 

This finding underscores an important reality: clinical questions arise regardless of experience level. Whether building confidence early in practice or navigating an uncommon clinical scenario decades into a career, healthcare professionals benefit from access to trusted expert consultation.

Although ReproHH is based at UCSF and funded by the state of California, our reach extends far beyond state borders. In our first year, 59% of callers came from outside California, demonstrating the broad demand for confidential, clinician-to-clinician support in sexual and reproductive healthcare. In our first year, 59% of callers came from outside California, while 41% practiced within the state. 

The geographic distribution of calls demonstrates a widespread need for confidential, clinician-to-clinician support in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Providers across the country are seeking trusted, evidence-based information on topics ranging from STI management to miscarriage care, contraception, menopause, and more. 

Building ReproHH has been a collaborative effort. Over the past year, we've partnered with state Title X programs, local health departments, nonprofit organizations, healthcare systems, and clinic networks nationwide. 

One of the most rewarding aspects of this work has been connecting directly with clinicians through conferences, webinars, grand rounds, and staff meetings. These conversations help us better understand the challenges healthcare professionals face and continue to shape the evolution of the hotline. 

We've now presented about ReproHH hundreds of times, both virtually and in person, and we look forward to continuing these partnerships in the years ahead. If you'd like us to speak with your organization, clinic, or healthcare team, we'd love to connect. 

As we celebrate our first anniversary, we're proud of what we've built—and even more excited about what comes next. 

Thank you to every clinician who has called, every partner who has shared information about ReproHH, and everyone who has helped make this work possible. Together, we're helping ensure that healthcare professionals across the country have access to timely, evidence-based reproductive health expertise when questions arise. 

The first year of ReproHH has demonstrated both the need for this service and the value of connecting clinicians with trusted experts in real time. We look forward to continuing to learn, grow, and support healthcare professionals nationwide in Year Two. 

Here's to another year of advancing reproductive healthcare together. 

To utilize the Reproductive Health Hotline, call 1-844-ReproHH (844-737-7644) after reading our Terms of Service.