The Clackamas print., February 17, 2016, Image 4

BIRTH CONTROL MADE EASY
OREGON BECOMES FIRST STATE TO IMPLEMENT OVER THE COUNTER BIRTH CONTROL
STORY AND GRAPHICS
JY SHAYLYN STRUMA
In O r e g o n ,
w om en age 18 and
older can now go to their local
pharm acist to get a prescription
for birth control rather than m aking
a doctor’s appointm ent.
This new law became effective Jan . l , 2016.
Oregon is the first state to have fully implemented
the law. California has passed a similar law and is
in the process o f finalizing it. Other Western states
are following suit. The bill was signed by the governor
in July o f last year. The Oregon Board o f Pharmacy was
r directed, by law, to create the standard procedures for this
service and did so in 94 days, according to Fiona Karbowicz,
a pharmacist consultant at the Oregon Board o f Pharmacy.
“ Well I think that if it increases access to birth control, in a
safe and effective way then it will be a real benefit to all o f our
I patients and women across the state,” said M olly Meyers, an
advice nurse at W om en’s Healthcare Associates.
“ The law allows for the prescribing by a pharmacist for the oral
contraceptives or the patches,” said Karbowicz. It also allows a
patient to receive up to a year’ s worth o f contraceptives in one
prescription. This is covered by insurance, but is also available to
those without insurance, though the cost varies depending on the
pharmacy.
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“Well I think that if it increases access to
birth control, in a safe and effective way
then it will be a real benefit to all o f our
patients and women across the state”
- M o l ly Meyers
Pharm acists th at opt to use th is service m ust have
additional training. The training involves a series o f
online modules and takes about five hours. However,
the service is completely voluntary. It is not up to
the pharmacy, but the pharmacists them selves,
as to whether they want to provide this service.
The training allows pharmacists to learn
how to find the best type of birth control
for th e patient.- The p atien t fills
out a questionn aire and the
sp ecific type is ch osen
b ased o n th e ir
I Clackamas Print FEBRUARY 17,2016 thedackamaspri ntcom
answers. There
are certain conditions
th a t could d isq u alify you
from this service.
On the Oregon Board o f Pharmacy’s
website, there is a list o f clinic sites for
patients to refer to when they are deemed
ineligible, due to either no insurance or “ for
example, if they have a medical condition that does
not allow the pharmacist to prescribe to her, such as
high blood pressure,” said Karbowicz. The pharmacist
will then refer the patient to a clinic.
Because the service is still so new, in effect for only one
m onth now, many local pharmacists have not yet started
the training.
Karbowicz said, “ The Board o f Pharm acy does have a list
o f pharm acists who have taken and completed the training;
however, a list of the exact pharmacy locations where the services
are being provided is not available by u s.”
The best option would be to call your local pharmacy to find out
if this service is available.
Though, Karbowicz did say that the first pharm acies to start
adapting to the new law include Costco, Safeway and Albertsons.
After contacting the pharmacies, it seems as though Albertsons
Sav-On Pharmacy in Oregon City and Costco Pharmacy in Clackamas
are fully up and running this new service.
Birth control is covered by insurance, however, some pharmacies
may have a ‘visit fee’ much like a copay fee when you visit the
doctor. At the pharmacy in Albertsons, this fee is $45.
Cassie Riedel, a pharmacist at Sav-O n , explained the process
patients take when visitin g their pharm acy by saying, “ They
would just come on in, no appointment needed, they would come
into the window where you would drop o ff prescriptions and
they would fill out a fo rm ... answering questions about their
background and medical history and then the pharm acist
would meet with th em .”
A t th e Costco pharm acy, there is a $35 pharm acist
dispensing fee.
A pharm acist at Costco said, “ You have to be 18
years or older. Under 18, then you need an active
prescription of birth control so that you’ve already
been seen by a physician. You have to have seen
&
your physician within the past three years. ”
Continued on n