New app ships affordable birth control to women, no doctor's visit required

Whether it's a 30-year-old woman who has no time for doctor's visits, or an embarrassed teen who doesn't want to tell her parents she wants to use birth control, Nurx brings the doctor's visit to their palms and eliminates a trip to the pharmacy.

Nurx is a startup focused on making birth control more accessible through an app, according to a company statement.

After talking to one of Nurx's licensed doctors, either by its messaging feature or by phone, teens and women can get birth control shipped to their homes, according to Nurx's website. It automatically refills the prescription about every three months.

Users must answer a few medical questions and upload identification before getting a prescription. User information remains confidential, according to its website, and Nurx encrypts users' conversations and transactions.

"In North Carolina, girls at any age can get birth control from a medical provider and without a parent's permission, yet many do not get a prescription for fear of their parents finding out," Nurx said in its statement. "This birth control app makes it easy for teenagers to get birth control without their parents finding out."

Nurx lets users choose from several types of birth control, offering it through a combination pill, a progestin-only pill, a ring, a patch or emergency contraception. The cost of birth control can be as low as $15 for users without health insurance, while those with health insurance can get the birth control for free or pay only the co-payment.

"The greater goal is to improve access to patients but also to improve the efficiency of our health care system," Jessica Knox, the Nurx medical director, told ABC 11.

Nurx is now available in North Carolina, Texas, California, New York, Washington state, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

In the next few weeks, Nurx plans to expand to 20 more states, according to its statement.

Users can download the app at the AppStore and or go directly to Nurx.com to set up an account.