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Access to emergency hormonal contraception from community pharmacies and family planning clinics.

Lewington G, Marshall K

South-west Kent PCT, Tonbridge and School of Pharmacy, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.

AIMS: To evaluate differences in the time taken to access progestogen-only emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) by young women from family planning (FP) or community pharmacy settings. METHODS: An observational study of 203 women requesting EHC from FP clinics and community pharmacies in South-west Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) from December 2002 to October 2003. RESULTS: Access to EHC from community pharmacy was significantly faster than from FP clinics (16 h vs. 41 h, P<0.001). Older teenagers tended to seek EHC more quickly and were more likely to have had a contraceptive failure rather than have used no contraception at all. CONCLUSION: The results provide further support for pharmacist involvement in the supply of EHC.

Published 3 May 2006 in Br J Clin Pharmacol, 61(5): 605-8.
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