Principal Investigators and Research Partners:
Anu Manchikanti Gomez, PhD (University of California, Berkeley)
Summary and Findings:
In 2013 California passed Senate Bill (SB) 493, legislation that expanded the scope of pharmacist practice. Under SB 493, pharmacists were authorized to prescribe self-administered hormonal contraception to their patients. In April 2016, implementation of this policy began. Pharmacy access to contraception, now being implemented or considered in numerous states, may alleviate barriers to contraceptive use, though no studies have assessed accessibility of contraception under this model.
Our current work evaluates the availability of pharmacists-furnished hormonal contraception in California one year after implementation began. Additionally, we conducted structured phone interviews with 36 pharmacists working in independent pharmacies in California to understand the incentives and barriers for furnishing hormonal contraception in this setting.