Planned Parenthood Named One of Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Design for 2018

NEW YORK — Fast Company recently announced its annual rankings of the world’s Most Innovative Companies (MIC) for 2018, honoring leading enterprises and rising newcomers that exemplify the best in business and innovation. Planned Parenthood Federation of America was selected as a 2018 Most Innovative Company on the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Design list. This honor comes after Planned Parenthood was named the 2017 Most Tech-Friendly Provider by Rock Health.

Planned Parenthood is thrilled to be honored for our efforts to get people the information and care they need to stay healthy and reach their life goals, whether that’s on their phones or in a health center,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Planned Parenthood is committed to revolutionizing the way people access sexual and reproductive health care and information by using technology to make it accessible on a variety of innovative platforms. We work every day to make it easier for people who need care to get it — no matter what.

More than three dozen Fast Company editors, reporters, and contributors surveyed thousands of companies—many of which were identified by a new MIC submission process—to create Top 10 lists that recognize pioneering companies across 36 categories, from design to artificial intelligence to wellness. Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.

“This year’s MIC list is an inspiring and insightful window into how many companies have embraced innovation and are working to make meaningful change,” said Fast Company deputy editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with senior editor Amy Farley.

Planned Parenthood was founded on the radical idea that women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams. Today, Planned Parenthood is committed to providing access to quality health care for all people and using technology to make sexual and reproductive health care and information easier to access than ever before:

• Planned Parenthood makes scheduling an appointment at a health center as easy as clicking a button at nearly 500 health centers around the country. There have been more than 3 million appointments booked online to date. Planned Parenthood offers same-day appointments online, which means people can get the care they need, when they need it.
   
• Planned Parenthood’s Chat/Text program enables young people to correspond with trained educators via online chat or text message with urgent reproductive health questions, reaching them with critical information about sex and health when they are in need of fast, confidential help. It is the largest digital sex education program in the country, with over 900,000 conversations since the program started.
   
• Planned Parenthood’s free birth control and period tracker app Spot On helps people track and predict their periods, understand their menstrual cycles, and manage their birth control methods, as well as provides guidance and fun facts from Planned Parenthood experts. Over 1.3 million people have downloaded the app, with active users in 160 countries and every state in the U.S. The app won Fast Company’s 2017 Innovation by Design Award.
   
• A new study from researchers at Planned Parenthood found that giving people the option to self-administer the birth control shot at home is safe, improves access to health care, and means patients are more likely to continue using the shot. PPFA is incorporating the findings into our national medical guidelines, which will allow health centers to make at-home administration of Depo an option for patients.
   
• The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has rolled out a digital organizing program called the Defenders, a group of our most dedicated activists who are ready to mobilize for Planned Parenthood at a moment’s notice. They self-organized nearly 2,000 in-person meet-ups in the first six months of 2017 alone, and helped staff the first national one-on-one text organizing program that has driven nearly 200,000 text conversations to date with real, live Planned Parenthood representatives — including an estimated 80,000 text conversations with Planned Parenthood donors.
   
• Planned Parenthood makes online sexual and reproductive health information available 24/7 at plannedparenthood.org to more than 73 million people every year in both English and Spanish. In 2017, we redesigned and relaunched PlannedParenthood.org to better meet the needs of our millions of visitors: The site is now more user-friendly, mobile-friendly, gender-neutral, and health-literate for all users.
   
• Through telemedicine, Planned Parenthood is offering the same high-quality care someone would receive during a visit to a Planned Parenthood health center. Technology allows us to minimize barriers such as time and transportation, which can prevent people from obtaining the timely health care they need.
   
  • The Planned Parenthood Direct™ app allows people in California to receive birth control prescriptions and UTI treatments through their mobile phone. Planned Parenthood has piloted apps in other states to allow people to get services including birth control, UTI treatments, and STD tests online and on their phones.
     
  • Planned Parenthood is proud to offer medication abortion services via telemedicine in 11 states. By distributing medication safely and effectively via telemedicine, Planned Parenthood is able to expand access to abortion for those living in more remote and rural communities. We're planning to offer this service in additional locations by the end of 2018.
     
• Planned Parenthood has created YouTube video series to model healthy communication for young people around consent and safer sex and STDs, as well as the basics of caring for your vagina and vulva.
   
• Every day, Planned Parenthood shares health information and sex education with our supporters, allowing people to ask sexual health questions through our Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
   
• Planned Parenthood’s waiting and recovery room design guidelines won the 2016 Innovation by Design Award for Health. Planned Parenthood and the global human-centered design firm IDEO developed “The Hub and Recovery” to meet the needs of Planned Parenthood patients. The design reimagines the waiting and recovery experiences by creating a human-centered environment that supports multiple needs.
   
• Planned Parenthood has released survey data showing that virtual reality can move people's views on abortion and clinic harassment. Planned Parenthood is also an executive producer for the immersive virtual reality film Across the Line, which places viewers in the shoes of a patient entering a health center for a safe and legal abortion. This film is the first project of its kind.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2018) is now available online at www.fastcompany.com/MIC, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning February 27. 

ABOUT FAST COMPANY
Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, one of the U.S.’s leading media companies.

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 Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood affiliates serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.