Reproductive control agents

Community pharmacies to provide three-month supply of desogestrel as bridging contraception

Providing a three-month supply of contraception is expected to give patients "time to access their GP or sexual health services" for long-term prescriptions.…

Provision of progestogen-only pill with emergency contraception in community pharmacy improves ongoing contraception use

Community pharmacy provision of the progestogen-only pill, and the offer of rapid access to a sexual and reproductive health clinic along with emergency contraception, was associated with a 20% increase in use of effective contraception.…

Government group recommends reclassifying progestogen-only pill as an OTC medicine

The progestogen-only pill should be reclassified to make it available over the counter without the need for a prescription, a report has recommended.…

Access to contraception in primary care leaves much to be desired — community pharmacy should prescribe, as well as supply, pills and patches

Pharmacists can do more than just dispensing contraceptives; by prescribing and monitoring them in the pharmacy, they can free GPs to provide women with a wider range of contraceptive choices.…

Emergency contraception sales fall by more than 50% as pandemic causes ‘disruption’ to sexual health services

Sales of the morning after pill dropped by more than 50% between March 2020 and April 2020, according to retail data provider IRI.…

Real respect for patients is having respect for their morals, despite your own

I was very pleased to see the article ‘Refusing to supply emergency hormonal contraception undermines our profession — no pharmacist should do it’, by Cathy Cooke in the March 2020 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal. For a succinct view of this matter, may I also refer reade…

Refusing to supply emergency hormonal contraception undermines our profession — no pharmacist should do it

Allowing personal beliefs to prevent patients accessing emergency hormonal contraception goes against the patient-centred care standards that pharmacists should uphold.…

Useful look at the wider societal effects of the contraceptive pill

How the Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control by Sarah Hill…

Calls for emergency contraception to be available without a pharmacist consultation

Emergency contraception should be available over the counter without the need for a consultation with a pharmacist, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said.…

Emergency contraception and smoking cessation should be commissioned nationally, say pharmacy organisations

Pharmacy organisations are calling for a single national service specification for prevention services in community pharmacy, such as smoking cessation and the provision of emergency hormonal contraception.…