Background: A Washington State pilot project to increase access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) through pharmacist-prescriber collaborative drug therapy agreements was conducted in Washington State from July 1997 through June 1999. Working under a protocol through these agreements, trained pharmacists were able to provide emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) directly to women in need. The project had five specific objectives: inform retail pharmacists about ECPs and collaborative agreements; deliver emergency contraceptive tools and training to pharmacists; facilitate the establishment of collaborative agreements for emergency contraceptive pills; conduct a 3 month public awareness media campaign; evaluate pharmacist's, prescriber's and women's satisfaction and the extent to which women used this option.
Outcomes: The project succeeded in raising awareness and increasing access to emergency contraceptive pills in Washington State. Pharmacists provided nearly 12,000 ECP prescriptions over a period of 16 months. Many women sought services on evenings and weekends. Most women were provided with ECPs within one day of unprotected intercourse. A benefit-cost analysis of the pharmacy based approach projected savings for both private and public insurers.
Conclusions: Direct ECP availability through pharmacists working under collaborative drug therapy agreements is acceptable to providers and to consumers, is cost-effective, and offers needed access to women within the short time frame of peak method effectiveness. Both public and private third party payers would benefit from covering pharmacist ECP services for beneficiaries. Collaborative drug therapy agreements between pharmacists and prescribers represent a significant addition to the array of effective options to reduce unintended pregnancies.
Learning Objectives: Participants will: 1. Describe why easy and timely access to emergency contraception is critical to effective method use 2. Articulate the objective of collaborative drug therapy agreements and how they can be applied to emergency contraception 3. Describe a model of increasing emergency contraceptive pills access through pharmacies and discuss the impact on untintended pregnancy and costs. 4. Assess the feasibility of such a model in their own states and/or other strategies for increasing awareness of and access to emergency contraceptives
Keywords: Contraception, Access
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.