The role of pharmacists in delivering contraceptive care is exploding!
Most pharmacists who will be providing contraceptive services are not experts in the field of family planning nor are they expected to be. As pharmacists specializing in family planning, we are here to support our colleagues in providing competent and evidence-based contraceptive care.
Birth Control Pharmacist provides education and training, implementation assistance, resources, and clinical updates to pharmacists prescribing contraception and key stakeholders, as well as leading and stimulating advocacy, research, and policy efforts to expand the role and realize the potential of pharmacists in reproductive health and justice. We also maintain the Birth Control Pharmacies site and directory for people across the country to find a participating pharmacy where they can access contraception directly from a pharmacist.
We hope pharmacists and pharmacy students will find the Birth Control Pharmacist’s content useful. We look forward to your comments, suggestions, and questions!
Our Team
Sally Rafie, PharmD, BCPS, APh, NCMP, FCCP, FCPhA (she/her)
Founder
Dr. Rafie graduated from the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy and is a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. She has trained and worked with Planned Parenthood, University of California San Diego Medical Center, University of California San Francisco, and San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Rafie is licensed as a Registered Pharmacist and Advanced Practice Pharmacist in California. She has also earned her Certified Menopause Practitioner credential from the North American Menopause Society.
Dr. Rafie is a Pharmacist Specialist at UC San Diego Health. She sees patients for contraception and more at the UC San Diego Health Women’s Health Services Clinic. Dr. Rafie founded The Pharmacists Clinic, the first pharmacist-run clinic in a community pharmacy, where she provides contraception and other clinical services. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences at the University of California San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences where she teaches and trains pharmacy students about emergency contraception, youth-friendly pharmacy services, and hormonal contraception. She helped develop the California statewide protocol for self-administered hormonal contraceptives adopted by the Board of Pharmacy. Dr. Rafie has held leadership positions in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and San Diego County Pharmacists Association. She is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and California Pharmacists Association. Dr. Rafie has a long record of research and advocacy in the field of reproductive health and has published in peer-reviewed medical journals. See her full bibliography.
Jenny Newlon, PharmD, PhD (she/her)
Research Director
Dr. Newlon is a pharmacist, health services researcher, and UX researcher. She graduated from Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy with a PharmD in 2014 and a PhD in Health Services, Outcomes, and Policy in 2020. She finished a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Services, Outcomes, and Policy at Purdue University in 2022. During graduate school and her postdoctoral fellowship, she researched health policy topics through a social/behavioral lens. Her research includes topics such as pharmacist-provided contraceptive services, scope of practice, and pharmacy working conditions.
Jackie Campi, PharmD (she/her)
Research and Program Manager
Dr. Campi received her PharmD from the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. She has experience working in community pharmacies in a variety of settings in Indiana, Hawaii, and Washington, DC. As a pharmacy student she created materials and interviewed subjects for a study examining adolescent’s ability to consent to the use of contraceptives. She was presented with the Purdue University College of Pharmacy Research Recognition Award in 2017.
As project coordinator for the University of Hawaii at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, she created resources and referral lists for pharmacists to distribute to patients who required further family planning care after being prescribed self-administered hormonal contraceptives. Most recently Dr. Campi worked as a staff pharmacist at an independent pharmacy in Washington, DC, where she collaborated with a local harm reduction facility specializing in gender affirming hormone therapy, infectious disease, and medication-assisted treatment for addiction.
Brenna Dooley (she/her)
Program Assistant
Ms. Dooley is a current pharmacy student at the University of California, San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her interests include increasing contraception availability and education for all patients, HIV PrEP/PEP accessibility, transgender healthcare, women’s healthcare, and expanding harm reduction coalition programs. She holds several leadership positions with the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the San Diego Society of Health-System Pharmacists. She is also a member of the California Pharmacy Student Leadership Program. In her free time, she volunteers within the community and organizes several healthcare outreach programs to provide quality care and patient education to underserved populations.
Our Advisors and Consultants
Don Downing, RPh
Don is a Clinical Professor at the University Of Washington School Of Pharmacy in Seattle and Endowed Chair of the Institute for Innovative Pharmacy Practice. More than 20 years ago he and colleagues developed the country’s first pharmacist-initiated on-going contraception and emergency contraception models of care. He has provided over 400 related trainings around the US and worked in many states to pass laws that enabled pharmacists to be active participants in sexual and reproductive health care services.
In 2014, Downing was presented with the Felicia Stewart Award for lifetime achievement in efforts to increase access to emergency contraception by the American Society for Emergency Contraception and the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception.
Rebecca Stone, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, FCCP
Dr. Stone graduated from the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy in 2010, and then competed at PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at VA Puget Sound in Seattle Washington, and a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist. Dr. Stone previously worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Women’s Health High in both the Risk Obstetrics Clinic and Family Medicine Clinic.
Dr. Stone is now a faculty member at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, where she maintains a clinical practice at Mercy Health Center, an Adult Medicine Clinic which provides free care for the under-served. At this site she assists with medication access and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. She is developing a Hormone Therapy clinic. She teaches women’s health content, including an elective course called Pharmacotherapeutic Issues in Women’s Health. Her research interests focus on emergency contraception access, contraceptive access, and medication use during pregnancy.
Brooke Griffin, PharmD, BCACP
Dr. Griffin is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Vice Chair of Clinical Services at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy. Her current practice site is with Sinai Medical Group in Chicago where she provides medication therapy management services to an underserved community. At the college she co-directs a Women’s Health elective and is a lecturer for women’s health topics in the Therapeutics sequence. She is past Chair of the ACCP Women’s Health Practice and Research Network and has presented on women’s health topics at local and national meetings. She is a member of the interdisciplinary Sex and Gender Health Collaborative Scholarship Committee. In the state of Illinois, she testified during a house committee hearing for Pharmacist Contraceptive Prescribing. She serves as a faculty mentor through AACP’s Pharmacy Practice and Women Faculty SIGs. Her research interests include the pharmacist’s role in health care, women’s health, student professional and personal development, and pharmacy education. In her spare time, she authors two blogs (pharmacistmomsgroup.com and 21stcenturypharmd.com).
Shareen El-Ibiary, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS
Dr. El-Ibiary is Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in Glendale, Arizona. She was previously a faculty member at the University of California–San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy for 7 years. She received her Pharm.D. from the University of South Carolina and completed her general pharmacy practice residency at UCSF. Her areas of interest and publication include internal medicine and women’s health with a focus in contraception, preconception care and postpartum depression. Other interests include faculty development, work-life integration, burnout prevention, pharmacy curriculum and innovative teaching. She is involved in various local, state, and national organizations. Dr. El-Ibiary has spoken nationally and internationally on various topics, written book chapters and papers, and developed continuing education programs related to women’s health issues and faculty development topics. She is a graduate of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Academic Leadership Fellows Program and is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Ashley Meredith, PharmD, MPH, BCACP, BCPS, CDCES, FCCP
Dr. Meredith is a 2007 graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Ambulatory Care/Academia Residency at the RL Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Meredith is a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist, Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She has been recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Dr. Meredith is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. She provides adult primary care disease state management at Eskenazi Health and is developing pharmacist contraception prescribing services for the Purdue University Pharmacy. Dr. Meredith’s primary teaching responsibilities include women’s health topics (i.e., contraception, medication use in pregnancy and lactation, abnormal uterine bleeding) and the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process. Her research focuses on increasing access to contraception particularly in young women, implementation of pharmacist services, and qualitative exploration of patient perceptions related to pharmacy services.
Kathleen Vest, PharmD, BCACP, CDE
Dr. Vest is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy and an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist with Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Vest received her PharmD from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and completed a Primary Care Residency with an Emphasis on Education with Midwestern University. She has over 16 years of patient care experience in the ambulatory care setting. She serves as the co-director of a women’s health elective and teaches women’s health and psychiatry topics. Dr. Vest is involved in various state and national organizations and is a past Chair of the ACCP Women’s Health Practice and Research Network. Her research interests include women’s health, the pharmacist’s role in integrated care models, sex and gender differences in health care education, and innovative teaching methods in pharmacy education. Dr. Vest has developed and presented continuing education nationally on topics including women’s reproductive health, the pharmacist’s role in integrated care models, and non-traditional work arrangements in pharmacy academia.
Natalie DiPietro-Mager, PharmD, PhD, MPH
Dr. DiPietro Mager earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy and Master of Public Health and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Epidemiology from Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health. She also completed a fellowship in women’s health through the Visiting Scientist Program at Eli Lilly & Company.
Dr. DiPietro Mager is currently a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy and is a licensed pharmacist in Ohio. Her research interests include the intersection of pharmacy and public health, especially as it relates to opportunities to improve maternal and child health. Her greatest area of expertise is in preconception care, and she has extensively presented and published on potential roles for pharmacists in the provision of preconception and contraceptive services. Dr. DiPietro Mager is active in a number of professional and volunteer organizations and has held leadership positions with the American Public Health Association Pharmacy Section, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Public Health Special Interest Group, and the Ohio Public Health Association.
Sharon Landau, MPH
Ms. Landau is a reproductive health advocate and consultant with over 20 years of public health experience, particularly in the area of pharmacists prescribing contraception. She provides states with technical support to facilitate changes in policies and practices to improve access to hormonal contraception and helped states integrate youth-friendly pharmacy strategies into their initiatives. As former Director of Pharmacy Access Partnership, Sharon designed, implemented, promoted and evaluated innovative pregnancy prevention strategies, policies and programs at the local, state, and national levels, including California’s Emergency Contraception Pharmacy Access Program. She conceived and launched “Pharmacy Forward” the nation’s first leadership program for pharmacist champions for reproductive health. She has studied and published on women’s and pharmacists’ interest, experiences, and concerns around contraceptive access. Previously, Sharon worked for Kaiser Permanente and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. She earned a Masters in Public Health, Health Services Management and Policy from UCLA and has a degree in Women’s Studies and Psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Sharon served as a Fellow of the California Women’s Foundation’s Women’s Policy Institute and is an alumna of the Center for Collaborative Planning’s Women’s Health Leadership program.
Pharmacy Student Interns and Research Assistants
Pre-Pharmacy Undergraduate Student Interns
What We Do
TRAINING
- For pharmacists, students, other health care professionals and workers, as well as organizations
- Various formats including:Live in-person lecture or workshop
- Live webinar lecture or workshop
- On-demand recorded lectures and workshops
- Self-study courses
CLINICAL TOOLS
- Patient Education Kit with Demo Birth Control Products
MARKETING
- Birth Control Pharmacies DirectoryDirectory of participating pharmacies
- Free listing
- List your pharmacy
- Custom Marketing SolutionsPrint MaterialsPosters
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- Rack cards
- Postcards
- Pocket cards
- Frame inserts
- Buttons
- Window decals
- Other
- Digital MarketingWebsite copy and images
- Social media
- Online advertising
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CONSULTING & IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
- Policy or legislation consultation
- Protocol development or review
- Formulary review
- Clinical service development
- Personalized practice consultation
- Research consultation
- Expert witness
SPEAKING & WRITING
- Audiences include students, health care professionals and community members
- Formats include articles, chapters, and more
PATIENT CARE SERVICES
If you’d like to find a participating pharmacy for birth control in the United States, please visit the Birth Control Pharmacies website to find a pharmacy near you.
Join the Project
We welcome you to join us!
Whether it be a training partnership, research collaboration, or guest blog article, we’d like to hear from you!
We offer a remote, elective APPE rotation for pharmacy students, as well as virtual internship options for pharmacy, pre-pharmacy, public health, and other students.
Send us a quick note using the contact form.
Pharmacists can submit an interest form to work with us as a volunteer or consultant.
Join Our Community
If you’d like to receive our email updates about pertinent clinical updates, protocol/guideline changes, new courses, and other relevant information, sign up for our email list and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Join Our Team
New opportunities coming soon! Join our mailing list to learn about new opportunities as they become available.
Birth Control Pharmacist 