Abstract
Objective
The availability of emergency contraception (EC) depends on pharmacy stocking practices
and pharmacist willingness to dispense the medication. We aimed to describe the availability
of EC in areas governed by different state policies regarding pharmacist behavior.
Study Design
A telephone survey was conducted between October 1 and December 31, 2005, of every
pharmacy listed in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Philadelphia and Boston. We
asked whether pharmacies could fill a prescription for EC within 24 h and, if not,
why not.
Results
We interviewed pharmacists at 1085 pharmacies (response rate of 75%). Overall, 23%
were unable to fill a prescription for EC within 24 h. The rate of being unable to
fill was 35% in Atlanta, 23% in Philadelphia and 4% in Boston (p<.001). Refusal rates
were low: 4% overall; 8% in Atlanta; 3% in Philadelphia and 0% in Boston.
Conclusions
Variation in state policy predicted the availability of EC. The most common reason
for not being able to fill a prescription within 24 h was not having the medication
in stock.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 17, 2007
Accepted:
November 8,
2006
Received:
October 30,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
