Need Hormonal Contraception? See Your Pharmacist

Pharmacists in 11 states can prescribe hormonal contraception. To compare the prescribing practices of pharmacists with those of clinicians, researchers surveyed 410 women who received at least 1 month of a hormonal contraceptive (including pill, vaginal ring, patch, and injectable) from 139 pharmacies in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Oregon.

Pharmacists were over three times as likely to prescribe a ≥6-month supply of contraception and significantly less likely to limit women to a 1-month supply than other clinicians. No significant differences were seen in provision of progestin-only methods to women with potential contraindications to estrogen. Women who were uninsured were more likely to receive contraception prescribed by pharmacist…