Californias EC Pharmacy Program Summary of Pilot Project Encounter Form Data

1

American Pharmacists Association, Annual Meeting
2004, Seattle, WA
EC Pharmacy Access in California By Sharon
Cohen, MPH In memory of Jane Boggess, PhD
March 30, 2004
2
Evolution CA law

• 2000
• CA law allowed protocols in retail pharmacies
• 1 patient 1 physician 1 pharmacist rule
• Patient needed to be seen by MD first for
  condition pharmacist treats ? infertility
• EC pharmacies started as closed system serving
  patients of authorizing clinics. Demonstration
  project conducted by Public Health Institute
• Effective 2001
• SB1169 dedicated EC pharmacy access legislation

3
Evolution CA law (continued)

• Effective 2004
• SB 545
• Sets 10 price cap on the amount pharmacist can
  charge for assessment and counseling also
  prohibits physicians/clinics from charging more
  than 10 for EC prescribed as result of phone or
  electronic contact
• Pharmacist must upon request, inform patient of
  total cost of drug plus assessment
• SB 490
• Authorizes State Pharmacy and Medical Boards to
  develop standardized protocol under which trained
  pharmacists may initiate EC
• Reduces training requirement to 1 hour of CE
  training

4
Evolution Pharmacist Training

• Started with 20 hour EC program
• home study and 2 day live program
• Shortened to 4 hour live program
• 2 hours clinical, 2 hours counseling skills
• New 2004 law specifies only 1 hour CE
• Introducing 1 hr Online EC program

5
Current Status

• About 800 CA pharmacies provide EC
• 2002 average of 43 new pharmacies joined every
  month
• 2003 average of 21 new pharmacies joined every
  month
• More than 2,500 pharmacist trained
• Market saturation about 17 of retail pharmacies
  participate
• 20 of CA cities and towns have at least one
  participating pharmacy
• 85 of protocol prescribers are lt10 physicians -
  generally Planned Parenthood Medical Directors
•  

6

• Data derived from listings on www.EC-Help.org.
  
  Estimated undercount is 22.

7
Growth of Participating Pharmacies
8
Characteristics of Participating Pharmacies

• Racial/ethnic makeup of clientele

• Language capacity of pharmacy
• 31 Spanish
• 11 Vietnamese
• 8 Chinese
• 6 Korean
• 4 Tagalog
• 1 each of Hmong, Cambodian and Laotian
• 16 of pharmacies have only English language
  capacity

As Reported By Pharmacists
9
www.EC-HELP.orgHotline 1-800-323-1336
10
www.EC-HELP.orgHotline 1-800-323-1336

• 96 of participating pharmacies have been
  referred to through the website
• 89 of participating pharmacies have been
  referred to through the hotline
• Pharmacies each received
• An average of 40 referrals through the website
• An average of 30 referrals through the hotline

11
Average Time to Assess Counsel an EC Client
100
67
17
12
N196 Pharmacies (results for written responses
only)
12
Average Time EC Client Spends in Pharmacy
(Arrival ? Departure)
119
56
50

N226 Pharmacies (results for written and verbal
responses)
13
Reasons Pharmacies Stopped EC Service (Source
Follow-Up Calls 2002)
14
Contact Information

• Sharon Cohen, MPH
• Pharmacy Access Partnership
• 614 Grand Avenue, Suite 324
• Oakland, California 94610
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email scohen_at_phi.org