New NC law allows women to get birth control without a prescription - WGHP FOX8 Greensboro
(WGHP) — A new North Carolina law would allow women to get birth control without a prescription.
Under House Bill 96, oral contraceptives, and patches are more readily available to women in North Carolina.
“I think the advantage we have as pharmacists is that we’re accessible to patients. They can walk in. They can call. They can always reach a pharmacist during working hours without any issues,” said Ryan Hoskins, a pharmacist at Archdale Drug.
The point of the bill overall is to make healthcare more accessible.
“I think this new statutory authority reflects a realization that pharmacists are trained and are capable of providing some access to healthcare beyond just traditional dispensing functions in a way that really can improve access to healthcare and healthcare outcomes,” said Jay Campbell, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy.
It gives patients direct access to birth control, HIV prevention meds, prenatal vitamins and more all through their local pharmacists.
“Pharmacists know which birth control pills work and are affordable. So those who don’t have insurance will still be able to afford the cheaper versions of the birth control pill that are still effective,” Hoskins said.
The law is also an attempt to shrink the state’s unplanned pregnancy rate.
Pharmacists said while they are glad their level of expertise is being considered when it comes to access to health care, they don’t want the patient’s overall health to be forgotten in the process.
Doctor Kalpen Patel, an OBGYN from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, is also concerned fewer patients will be seen for physicals and pap smears.
Another concern Patel has is that patients with certain health concerns like hypertension and blood clot risk will take birth control when they are not supposed to be taking it.
But you may not be able to walk into any pharmacy to get non-prescription birth control.
“The statute doesn’t compel any pharmacists to do this. The pharmacies will have to make decisions about their desire and capacity to do it,” Campbell said.
While the statute goes into effect Tuesday, it will be up to the state health director to create a standing order detailing what additional training, if any, is needed for certain pharmacists, whether there will be an age limit for direct access to pharmacy prescribed meds and the guidelines pharmacists will follow under the bill.
Some unknowns right now are whether there will be a price difference on contraceptives without prescriptions.
North Carolina joins about a dozen other states in allowing pharmacists to dispense birth control without a doctor’s signature. The other sections of the bill have already gone into effect.
source: https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/new-nc-law-allows-women-to-get-birth-control-without-a-prescription/
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