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| Helping pharmacy & health communities improve access to Emergency Contraception (EC) |
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Why EC and Pharmacies?
Why EC?Emergency Contraception, or EC, is a safe method to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse. It is estimated that the correct use of emergency contraception in the United States could prevent two million unintended pregnancies and one million abortions each year. Plan B OTCOn August 24, 2006 the FDA approved Plan B for nonprescription sale to consumers 18 and older in the United States. Women under 18 will still need a prescription. Women in states with EC pharmacy access programs may continue to get EC directly from pharmacies without going to the doctor/clinic first for a prescription. For more information click here. Why Pharmacy Access to EC?Pharmacies are an ideal access option for emergency contraception. Clinics and physicians’ offices, where women typically obtain prescription contraceptives, present clear access barriers. A woman who experiences a contraceptive failure on Friday night often has to wait until Monday morning to contact her health care provider, and may not be able to get an immediate appointment. Advance provision of EC through a physician or clinic can potentially help women who have a regular provider, but are of little help to those who do not. For these individuals, more immediate access than is typically available for prescription drugs is critical. Easy accessibility and open hours on evenings, weekends and holidays position pharmacies as a convenient and preferred source for EC. Deregulation of emergency contraception represents an opportunity to continue the tradition of empowering individuals, expanding access and creating more possibilities for collaboration. Focus on State AuthorityAdvances in deregulating EC can occur at both the federal and state level. While only the federal government can change a drug status from prescriptive to over the counter (OTC), individual states have considerable authority — they decide who can prescribe. Currently many of the most significant EC changes are occurring at the state level in virtual isolation. New Mexico for example, quietly decided to grant prescribing authority to pharmacists for EC. Hawaii’s legislative history in creating direct pharmacy access to EC is poorly understood outside of the state. There is a strong need for accurate, insightful reporting on EC policy change at the state level so that a wider audience can understand the differences in the models that are currently out there. This website was created specifically for pharmacists and health care professionals advocating greater consumer access to EC. It provides a unique opportunity to come together to share resources, ideas, and best practices around successfully improving access to EC. Partnering to Expand AccessRelationships between the pharmacy and health advocacy communities are often complex, and as a result, misunderstandings are common. For example, with thousands of FDA-approved drugs available, pharmacies have to choose which ones to stock; in most pharmacies, those decisions are driven largely by demand. Pharmacies may not stock emergency contraception simply because demand is low, yet advocates may assume that the decision was based on moral reasons. The pharmacy community has been actively involved in each of the states that have successfully changed their laws to permit direct pharmacy access. Increased collaboration between pharmacists and advocates will lead us to achieve our common goal of improved access. Pharmacy Access Partnership supports the right of individuals to access safe, legal health care supplies and medications, including emergency contraception (EC). While we acknowledge that some pharmacists may refuse to dispense medication based on personal beliefs, we urge the pharmacist to notify his/her employer prior to the onset of employment so that the employer can institute a protocol that: 1) provides that another on-duty pharmacist can dispense, and/or 2) allows for referral to a nearby pharmacist who will fill the prescription. This protocol should be seamless to the patient. To learn more about our policies or pharmacists rights in other states and nationwide, please visit our Pharmacy Policy & Legislation page. Learn more about EC and Pharmacies in your state.
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