The Government is consulting on reclassifying two progestogen-only pills for sale without a prescription from pharmacies – the first time such an application has been made for oral contraceptives.
The consultation, launched on 12 February, proposes allowing pharmacists to issue a three-month supply of 75mcg Lovima or Hana tablets – both desogestrel (DSG) progestogen-only pills – at initial consultation.
Pharmacies would be able to provide 12 months’ worth at repeat supply, but women under the age of 18 would be limited to three months, the document said.
DSG progestogen-only pills prevent ovulation, can be used by women who are breastfeeding and those unable to tolerate oestrogens, and have a longer ‘missed pill window’ than traditional progestogen-only pills.
The consultation comes after a study published in the Lancet in November 2020 found that enabling pharmacists to supply women with a course of progestogen-only pills along with emergency contraception (EHC) increased overall use of effective contraception.
At the time, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) said it backed a model where more pharmacies provided contraceptive services, as this could ‘broaden choice for women’.
Current FSRH advice recommends starting regular hormonal contraception straight after taking EHC. But most cannot obtain a supply without visiting a GP or sexual health clinic, which Lancet researchers said could act as a disincentive.
The Government said an engagement exercise carried out prior to the new consultation with patient groups, GPs, pharmacists, and professional bodies had also revealed ‘strong support’ for widening access to oral contraceptives.
The consultation document added that any health risks associated with doing so could be effectively mitigated by providing appropriate information to women both during consultations with pharmacists and via product information leaflets.
Pharmacists would also be provided with additional training materials around the safe use of DSG progestogen-only pills, including a checklist covering customers’ age, medical conditions, medications they are taking and advice around using after EHC and avoiding pregnancy.
A spokesperson for HRA Pharma – which manufactures Hana – added the company would be providing pharmacists with comprehensive training to enable them to assess the suitability of women during a consultation and ensure all appropriate guidance was provided.
HRA Pharma’s spokesperson said the company was confident the new consultation would ‘confirm the already strong support demonstrated by many professional organisations for greater availability of oral contraceptives’.
‘Women urgently need broader contraceptive access – now more than ever,’ the spokesperson said.
‘In the current Covid context it has been reported that many are experiencing difficulties in accessing their usual methods of contraception given that medical appointments may be difficult to get, and where sexual health clinics run reduced services.’
A version of this article was first published by Pulse’s sister title The Pharmacist
READERS' COMMENTS [3]
Please note, only GPs are permitted to add comments to articles
cocp better?
will need to be free or very cheap?
TBH the workload of contraception is mind-blowingly numb and pharmacists are expert enough here. It also gives people excuses to keep contacting GP practices, which feeds the perpetual GP addict behaviour from early years. TBH.
get ready for all the abortion seekers, who will claim pill failure.
either due to not taking it, or taking their friends, or not taking it properly, etc etc
i accept it is boring, but takes very little time, and the nurses do most of it anyway.