With Oregon as the first state in the nation to implement prescriptive authority for pharmacists, news outlets from all over the country are focusing their conversations on what this means for pharmacists, for the medical community, and for the general public.
In an effort to learn more about the process of building the law, OregonLive.com went behind the scenes last June 2015. “‘As a doctor, I think birth control should be as easy and accessible as possible,’ said the measure’s main champion, Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, who called HB 2879 bill a ‘landmark’ proposal.” After an attempt in April, “Buehler teamed up with House Majority Leader Van Hoyle, D-Eugene, and both worked through amendments with a bipartisan group that included senators.”
A New York Times article that ran in November 2015, detailed how other states are looking to Oregon and California as the laws are put in place. “Advocates of this approach, including pharmacists’ organizations, plan to lobby for it across the country. ‘We are actively going to come up with a statute to spread to other states, and I think it can spread pretty quickly,’ said [Rep.] Buehler, the Oregon legislator. Pharmacy board representatives from states including Arizona and Idaho observed a recent meeting in Oregon about the new rules.”
After the January 1st start date, LiveScience.com, an online journal for science news, ran an updated piece on the details of the law. “Oregon’s law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, allows pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptives to women 18 years or older. However, minors still need a doctor’s prescription.” They also went on to mention the certificate program that is available to pharmacists who want to prescribe hormonal contraceptives, “so they can learn how to prescribe birth control and match patients with the best options based on the answers to the patient’s health questionnaire.”
Local news outlet, KGW, also ran a story after the January 1st start date. In it they quoted Fiona Karbowicz of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy as saying, “not all pharmacists will be able to prescribe birth control. It’s up to each individual pharmacist to take the training.” She also mentioned, “some large companies, such as Safeway and Costco, have already trained up a number of their pharmacists.”
To learn more about the new law for pharmacists prescribing hormonal contraceptives in Oregon, the Oregon Board of Pharmacy’s website here is a great resource for all the up-to-date facts and information.