Tag: policy

How Pharmacy Students Can Advocate for Pharmacist Prescribing of Hormonal Contraception

Can pharmacy students advocate for pharmacists prescribing hormonal contraceptives? YES, that is exactly what Wilson Pace, a graduate of the University of Utah College of Pharmacy did. When Wilson heard about the barriers and costs that women experience when accessing contraceptives. His perseverance and dedication to advocacy as a pharmacy student allowed him to take action in his leadership class. Wilson drafted a “dream bill” which became Bill 184 in Utah. Bill 184  was passed in 2019 and allowed women in Utah to receive birth control prescriptions from their pharmacist.  

Fast forward to 2022; we now have 26 states + D.C that have either statewide protocols or collaboration practice agreements that allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control. But as pharmacy students we can do more! As of early 2022, the map below shows where pharmacists can prescribe hormonal contraceptives.

As future pharmacists we know that pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers (9 out of 10 Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy). The benefits pharmacists can offer women who are seeking hormonal contraceptives include accessibility, limiting barriers as well as reduced costs. 

Here are three easy ways pharmacy students can advocate for pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives if their state has not passed legislation yet:

  1. Research to see if any bills have been introduced in your state. If a bill has not been introduced you can help advocate for one to be started or start your own!
  2. Contact policymakers and advocate for them to support bills that allow. You can also look up your policy makers here: 
  3. Speak up and educate others by using your voice on social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Share why it is important to you that pharmacists are able to provide access to contraceptives. To help spread your message to a larger audience use hashtags such as #advocacy #pharmacystudents #birthcontrol #birthcontrolpharmacies

What if you currently live in a state that allows pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives, can you still make an impact? The answer is YES! Even if your state has allowed pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives you can still advocate here are 3 ways you can help:

  1. Check the Birth Control Pharmacies map to see if your pharmacy is listed. If your state allows pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives, encourage your pharmacist to fill out this form. This will help women be able to find a pharmacy near them. 

https://www.birthcontrolpharmacies.com/addpharmacy

  • Educate yourself by taking Birth Control Pharmacist’s free home study course to learn how to provide contraceptive care during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It is important to stay up to date on the ways you facilitate access to over-the-counter and prescription contraceptives.
  • Promote brainstorm ways that your pharmacy can promote contraceptive services. Maybe this is by creating a private area for counseling or developing ideas on how you can promote birth control services at your pharmacy.

I was interested in learning more about pharmacists prescribing hormonal contraceptives so I reached out to Dr. Rafie who allowed me to complete a rotation with her at Birth Control Pharmacist. I learned so much about legislation and advocacy during my 4 weeks on rotation. I was even able to discuss upcoming legislation that impacts pharmacists in South Carolina with my school’s Dean. Taking action as a student is a great way to impact the future of pharmacy. 

There are numerous ways pharmacy students can advocate for increased access to contraceptive services. As pharmacy students we have the power to advocate for legislation just like Wilson Pace and make an impact. Whether it is helping change an entire state’s contraceptive laws or helping a woman find a local pharmacy that provides contraceptive services it is important that we support everyone’s reproductive health and choices!

“If you want to make a difference in health care, you have to be involved…you have to advocate for your profession.” — Wilson Pace


Amy AckershoekAbout the Author

Amy Ackershoek is a pharmacy student in the Class of 2022 at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.

5 Pearls from the States Forum on Pharmacist Birth Control Services

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States Forum on Pharmacist Birth Control Services

The inaugural States Forum on Pharmacist Birth Control Services was recently held in conjunction with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) 2019 Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. This session was hosted by Birth Control Pharmacist. Most states were represented at the forum with over 60 participants, and there was meaningful discussion on how to make this service not only possible, but also impactful.

Sally Rafie, PharmD kicked off the program with a review of the current landscape. Sharon Landau MPH followed by facilitating brief updates from the states, including those that have implemented pharmacist birth control services, are in progress, and are considering this action. State representatives shared successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Don Downing, BSPharm then led a focused discussion on payment for pharmacist services.

Here are 5 pearls to take away from the States Forum:

1. Even states that tend to be conservative, particularly with women’s health, should consider pursuing policy. 
Legislation to allow pharmacist birth control services is a nonpartisan effort. While some of the early states had Democratic lawmakers sponsoring bills, more than half of those passed and under consideration are sponsored by Republican lawmakers.

2. Avoid certification because this is standard practice for pharmacists. 
Payment for pharmacist services is critical to success. Multiple states cited this as the biggest challenge they are currently facing. Health plans may look for “certification” to credential a pharmacist as a provider or pharmacists assessing a body system to determine the service is eligible for payment. Washington has had success with payment for pharmacist services by recognizing pharmacists as medical providers and using legislation to mandate payment for pharmacist services by all government and private health plans.

3. Provide education for pharmacists and identify pharmacist and physician champions in advance of proposed legislation.
Pharmacists are not the only stakeholders who champion initiatives for pharmacist birth control services in the states; legislation has even moved forward without necessarily engaging the state pharmacist associations or other pharmacists. In some states, pharmacists have more concerns than other stakeholders and may even testify in opposition of proposed legislation. Many of these concerns may be due to knowledge gaps and can be addressed with education opportunities in advance of legislation. Identifying physician champions is important, particularly for testifying in support of any proposed legislation. Check with local teaching hospitals for family planning fellows who will likely be enthusiastic about engaging in this work.

4. We need to promote our birth control services as a profession, as well as individual pharmacists and pharmacies that offer the service.
While pharmacists are getting trained and geared up to provide this service, the public remains largely unaware. Some pharmacies are seeing low patient demand for their birth control services. With over 1100 participating pharmacies on the birthcontrolpharmacies.com map, there is an opportunity to have a greater impact in serving communities.

5. Join us next year for the States Forum. 
Pharmacists valued sharing ideas, experiences, best practices, and strategies. Especially those in states who are considering legislation found the forum to be helpful. States that were farther along in implementing pharmacist birth control services were more than willing to share and help other states.

This article was originally published in Pharmacy Times.

Pharmacists Provide Contraception for Zika Preparedness

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A recent CDC report highlighted that Zika infections are of increasing concern, particularly in the summer travel months. To allow women and families to plan childbearing in the face of this threat, access to contraception is critical.

ZIka Contraception Pharmacists
One evidence-based strategy to increase access to contraception in the United States is pharmacist prescribing, wherein patients can go directly to a pharmacy for contraceptive supplies. Pharmacists are well qualified to assess patient eligibility for contraceptive methods following review of patient-reported medical history, and measuring blood pressure. This may greatly increase access to prescription-only contraceptives, such as pills, patch, ring, and injection, while maintaining product coverage for insured patients. While 33-50% of United States residents do not have a medical home, nearly all live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy. 

Prescriptive authority is granted at the state level. Eight states thus far (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah), as well as Washington D.C., have passed legislation allowing pharmacist prescribing of contraception via statewide protocol. Other states allow this under collaborative practice agreements (i.e., Washington), and 9 states allow pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraception pills, which has important implications for access and reimbursement for these products. Pharmacists in California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington are able to prescribe birth control and provide direct access to women—thanks to implementation of the state laws—and it will be happening soon in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Utah. That doesn’t mean every pharmacy in those states is participating though. These are all relatively new laws, so patients should check with their pharmacy or check Birth Control Pharmacies to find a participating pharmacy near them.
 
The existing state protocols vary, particularly with respect to contraceptive methods allowed, and age restrictions. We strongly recommend that additional states adopt similar legislation to increase access to contraception via pharmacists prescribing. The legislation and protocols should be evidence-based, and include all contraceptive methods that are safe to use when self-administered or administered by a pharmacist, and exclude age and duration restrictions. In addition, states should consider reimbursement and implementation at the outset to facilitate widespread uptake by patients and pharmacies alike.

Community pharmacies are often available, and accessible for vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations. Pharmacies have expanded hours of operation on evenings, and weekends, are visited frequently, and would allow for a single visit for the clinical visit, and contraceptive supplies. In order to protect more women from unintended pregnancy during the Zika crisis, pharmacists should be fully engaged and enabled to provide much-needed contraceptive services.

There will be a podium presentation on this topic at the American Public Health Association meeting on November 13, 2018 in San Diego, California. 

This article was co-written by Natalie DiPietro Mager, RPh, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at Ohio Northern University.

References

  1. Bonner L. Pharmacists in New Mexico can prescribe hormonal contraceptives. American Public Health Association. www.pharmacist.com/article/pharmacists-new-mexico-can-prescribe-hormonal-contraceptives. Created June 12, 2018. Accessed June 21, 2018.
  2. Illnesses from mosquito, tick and flea bites increasing in the US. [news release]. Altanta, GA: May 1, 2018; CDC. www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0501-vs-vector-borne.html. Accessed June 21, 2018.
  3. Darney BG, Aiken AR, Küng S. Access to Contraception in the Context of Zika: Health System Challenges and Responses. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;129(4):638-642.
  4. Dresser M. Assembly gives OK for Maryland pharmacists to write birth control pill prescriptions. Baltimore Sun. www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-pharmacists-pill-20170408-story.html. Published April 8, 2017. Accessed June 21, 2018.
  5. National Association of County & City Health Officials, 2014. Local Health Department and Pharmacy Partnerships for Enhancing Medication Dispensing during Emergencies. http://naccho.org/advocacy/positions/upload/14-03-LHD-Pharmacy-partnerships-for-emergency-response.pdf
  6. National Conference of State Legislatures. Emergency contraception state laws. NCSL website. www.ncsl.org/research/health/emergencycontraception-state-laws.aspx. Accessed June 21, 2018.
  7. Rafie S. Colorado is third state allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. Pharmacy Times. www.pharmacytimes.com/contributor/sally-rafie-pharmd/2017/02/colorado-is-third-state-allowing-pharmacists-to-prescribe-birth-control. Published February 27, 2017. Accessed June 21, 2018.
  8. Rafie S, Stone RH, Wilkinson TA, Borgelt LM, El-Ibiary SY, Ragland D. Role of the community pharmacist in emergency contraception counseling and delivery in the United States: current trends and future prospects. Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice. 2017;6:99-108

This article was originally published in Pharmacy Times.

More Birth Control Supplies Leads to Longer Use

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More frequent trips to the pharmacy to pick up refills are bad for patients when it comes to birth control. Studies have shown that when patients are given more supplies at a time, they stick to their birth control method for longer and have fewer unintended pregnancies.

Pharmacists are used to the barriers imposed by insurers on quantities we can dispense. But that does little to ease the frustrations of patients who have to come in every four weeks to obtain more birth control or are forced into a mail order pharmacy. And beyond frustrations, frequent trips lead to worse outcomes in this case.

Let’s start with the good that happens when the need to obtain refills goes away.

Birth Control Yay

More supplies leads to fewer unintended pregnancies and abortions. One study evaluated oral contraceptive supplies and pregnancy events among Medicaid users in California. Patients who were dispensed a one year supply of oral contraceptives experienced a 30% reduction in the odds of an unintended pregnancy compared to those patients who received supplies for one or three months. The one-year supply was also associated with a 46% reduction in the odds of an abortion.

Unintended pregnancy is a costly outcome that can be mitigated in part by providing patients with a one-year supply of contraception. Contraception is generally cost effective and it would behoove health insurers and other payers to increase dispensing limits to allow for one-year supplies.

Six states have passed legislation requiring health plans to cover a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives. This applies to self-administered hormonal contraceptives including pills, patches, and rings. Patients may request these larger quantities to be dispensed from their pharmacy. Similar legislation has been introduced in 17 other states.

California’s legislation was passed in September 2016 and became effective January 2017, however it does not require health plans to adhere to the law until the plan renews. For many plans, the annual renewal period is in the fall or winter.

This has implications for pharmacies. Besides being aware of this law and honoring our patient requests for larger supplies, we also need to consider inventory adjustments to accommodate these requests. Keeping substantially larger quantities of birth control products will be challenging for many pharmacies as these come in bulky packaging and shelf space is limited. If this is a significant limitation for your pharmacy, consider dispensing an initial supply of about three months, ordering the remaining quantity, and mailing those supplies directly to the patient’s home when it arrives or whatever method the patient prefers.

All birth control methods dispensed at the pharmacy are stored at room temperature except for the vaginal ring (NuvaRing). Since the ring can only be stored at room temperature for up to four months, we will need to dispense appropriate quantities to ensure the medication remains effective. While patients may want to store their rings in their refrigerator at home, the temperature cannot be controlled and monitored as it is in the pharmacy. For this reason, it would be prudent to dispense up to four vaginal rings if the patient plans on inserting the first the same day or up to three vaginal rings in the patient plans on inserting the first within the next month. For patients to be satisfied with this plan, it will be critical to explain the storage requirements and concern for effectiveness with the patient.

This evidence-based change is good for patients. While it’s a change for pharmacies initially, hopefully they will benefit from improved patient satisfaction and outcomes.

 

References:

  • Foster DG, Hulett D, Bradsbetty M, Darney P, Policar M. Number of oral contraceptive pill packages dispensed and subsequent unintended pregnancies. Obstet Gyencol 2011;117:566-72.
  • Steenland MW Rodriguez M, Marchbanks PA, Curtis KM. How does the number of oral contraceptive pill packs dispensed or prescribed affect continuation and other measures of consistent and correct use? A systematic review. Contraception 2013;605-10.
  • McMenamin SB, Charles SA, Tabatabaeepour N, Shigekawa E, Corbett G. Implications of dispensing self-administered hormonal contraceptives in a 1-year supply: a California case study. Contraception 2017;449-51.

 

This article was originally published in Pharmacy Times.

The image was adapted with permission from Sarah Mirk via Flickr.