Pharmacy Staff Frequently Misinform Teens Seeking Emergency Contraception
“About 20 percent of the pharmacy staff said that, because the callers identified themselves as teens, the callers couldn’t get [emergency contraception] at all. That’s completely incorrect,” says Wilkinson. “Of the remaining 80 percent of respondents, about half of them got the exact age requirement correct and half of them did not.”
Additionally, the study found that pharmacy staff often cited ethical reasons, such as institutional policies and personal religious beliefs, for not stocking or dispensing emergency contraception. Pharmacy staff often inaccurately told callers a parent or legal guardian would need to accompany the teen to pick up the medication, or that an older friend or boyfriend couldn’t buy the prescription for them.
The federal laws governing the dispensing of emergency contraception have changed since the study was published—and have become even more confusing, says Wilkinson. As of July 2013, Plan B One Step is now legally available over the counter to anyone of any age, and no photo ID is necessary. Other brands are either available to teens 17 or older at the pharmacy counter without a prescription, or to teens of any age with a prescription. One brand is available only by prescription, regardless of age.
Cora Collette Breuner, M.D., a pediatrician and member of the Committee for Adolescents of the American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Every time I go into a pharmacy, I see if Plan B is there without age restriction. And half of the time—or maybe even 80 percent of the time—it’s not. That’s against the law.”
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2013/pharmacy-staff-frequently-misinform-teens-seeking-emergency-contraception
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