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| Helping pharmacy & health communities improve access to Emergency Contraception (EC) |
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EC PHARMACY UPDATETwo important measures related to EC have been introduced in the WV legislature in recent years, although neither of these addresses pharmacy access to EC. On the pharmacy access front, the strategy has been to work with individual pharmacies and the WV Board of Pharmacy first, before pursuing legislation. Through EC related work, West Virginia FREE has worked closely with the National Women’s Law Center, who reviewed WV code and pharmacy rules regarding pharmacy refusals. While there is nothing specific in code, there are several relevant provisions in the WV Board of Pharmacy rules that NWLC believes would address refusals, as well as stocking issues. In 2004, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer (D) requested that HB 2906, a bill to allow pharmacists to directly dispense emergency contraception to women, be carried over. Under the bill, pharmacists must obtain special training and work under a protocol with a prescriber to provide EC service. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee. In 2003, this bill died with the legislature’s adjournment. West Virginia FREE, a coalition formed to protect reproductive rights, has been working on improving access to EC. Members of the coalition include social justice organizations, student groups, social workers, health service providers including Planned Parenthood of West Virginia, and a broad array of religious groups. They are enrolling more health practitioners on the national Not-2-Late EC website and hotline in anticipation of undertaking a broad awareness-building campaign intended to increase EC demand. A letter to health care providers, sent under the auspices of the WV Association of University Women, generated a good response. West Virginia FREE is continuing to increase awareness through radio spots (DOC-28K), billboards, and an EC brochure (PDF-140K). Radio ads and public service announcements targeted to rural teens in counties with the highest teen pregnancy rates were run in August and September 2004. An EC informational pamphlet was developed for teens and young adults and has been distributed to clinics, family planning program sites, teen resource groups, community organizations, domestic violence shelters, and sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs across the state. WV FREE is also working to increase EC awareness among college students, including distributing coin purses with a brief EC message and the NOT-2-LATE hotline printed on them. The group has begun a survey of pharmacies in the Charleston area to find out which ones stock Plan B® or can obtain it within 24 hours. WV FREE has strengthened partnerships with community leaders and organizations such as the Charleston Women’s Health Center, the Appalachian Women’s Leadership Project, the WV School Nurses’ Association, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program, and the WV Department of Health and Human Resources Teen Pregnancy Prevention program. The WV American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is working on an initiative with the Foundation for Rape Information and Services (FRIS) to ensure that EC is available to victims of sexual assault in hospital emergency departments. A survey of WV hospital ERs is planned for this summer. All West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Family Planning Program clinics provide emergency contraception. Protocols require health care practitioners in these clinics to either provide EC to women who request it, or to refer them in a timely manner to practitioners who will prescribe EC. The protocols encourage providers to give advanced prescriptions for women visiting the clinic. The West Virginia Family Planning Program includes EC information in reproductive health updates/training sessions for their clinic providers. A public awareness effort has also been mounted with the recent printing of program brochures that mention EC and provides a toll-free number with information about where patients can obtain it.
CONTACTSRichard Stevens Anne Williams Margaret Chapman
USEFUL LINKSACLU of West Virginia West Virginia Board of Pharmacy West Virginia Legislature West Virginia Bureau for Public Health West Virginia Freedom in Education, in Choice, in Access Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
PROTOCOL ENVIRONMENTUnfriendly Environment: New Authority Required In this state, no authority exists for collaborative practice agreements. Any initiative to provide direct pharmacy access to EC would require significant advocacy activity to secure statutory and/or regulatory authority.
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