When contraceptive counseling starts with method lists, visits can feel long and patients can leave feeling unsure about what options are best for them. This printable decision aid flips the script by starting with patient priorities, helping you focus the conversation on methods that actually fit what matters most to them.
Instead of reviewing every option, this tool helps you narrow quickly to the methods that align with a patient’s values—privacy, bleeding changes, side effects, effectiveness, control over starting and stopping, future fertility, and emergency contraception.
Developed by Bedsider (a project of Power to Decide) and UCSF School of Medicine’s Beyond the Pill Program, and reviewed for medical accuracy by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs.
Why providers use this tool
- Supports shared decision-making: helps patients articulate what matters to them
- Saves time: priorities first → fewer methods to review
- Patient-centered by design: clear visuals and plain language that centers values, not assumptions
How it works in practice
There are different ways to introduce the chart into your conversations. Here are some ideas, but make them your own!
“There’s no one ‘best’ birth control—this helps us figure out what’s best for you based on what matters right now.”
“Let’s start with what matters to you about birth control, and then we’ll look at the methods that align with those priorities.”
“This tool helps us start with what’s important to you—like bleeding changes, privacy, or effectiveness—so we can talk about the options that fit you best.”
Then focus counseling on the methods that best match those priorities, a simple way to support autonomy and informed choice.