WE ARE HERE FOR YOU: INFERTILITY CLINIC WEBSITE COMMUNICATION DURING THE ESCALATING STAGES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Objective: On March 17th, ASRM published guidance for REI clinics regarding infertility treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic The recommendations advised against initiation of new fertility treatment cycles outside of emergent fertility preservation Our objective was to evaluate what SART-member fertility clinics communicated to the public and their patients via clinic websites during this time period Design: Cross-sectional study Materials and Methods: Between 4/20/20 and 4/24/20, SART-member fertility clinic websites were reviewed for REI-specific COVID-19 messages (REI-CM) The REI-CM was evaluated for: type of treatment offered, and to whom;adherence to updated ASRM guidance;and citation of ASRM (or other) guidance Each website was evaluated by two reviewers and arbitrated by a third in the case of discrepancies Practice size, type, and location were abstracted from SART Clinics were classified by whether they were under a shelter in place (SIP) order and the duration of that order Chi squared analyses were performed to determine associations between clinic demographics and patterns in messaging Results: 381 SART-member clinics maintained active websites Of those, 249 (65 3%) had REI-CM The presence of REI-CM was more common in private than academic practices (73% vs 38%, p1000 cycles (p1000 cycles a year (18%, p=0 009), with a trend toward practices in the northeast (16%, p=0 113) and in states with SIP orders lasting <30 days (14%, p=0 09) Clinics treating all-comers were less likely to cite ASRM than other clinics (41% vs 62%, p=0 045) However, 75% (n=14) cited COVID-19 guidance from WHO, CDC and state and local governments Conclusions: While public messaging may not reflect the actual practices of a clinic, this study reveals heterogeneity in how clinics incorporated ASRM recommendations and responded to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic Academic practices were more likely to indicate their adherence to ASRM recommendations High volume groups were more likely to communicate with their patients about what treatments they offered and to treat patients outside ASRM guidance Lessons learned may inform optimal response in future waves of COVID-19 References: American Society for Reproductive Medicine Patient Management and Clinical Recommendations During The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Available at Accessed on May 26, 2020