RALEIGH, N.C. — Getting birth control just became a lot easier in North Carolina.
People who live there can now get birth control pills and patches without a prescription. It’s a move that will give millions of people easier access to contraceptives.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed a law back in August that allows certain pharmacists to provide birth control, after first assessing patients by following CDC guidelines on contraceptive use.
It’s a major move for a state that, according to the bill, ranks “in the bottom one half to one third of the nation” when it comes to public health.
Only “immunizing pharmacists” (or pharmacists who completed training and can administer vaccines) are approved to give out birth control.
Dr. Thomas McGrady of Sunshine Family Pharmacy in the Outer Banks said he welcomes the move, but he’s waiting for more details from the state Pharmacy Board on how to guide patients.
“Birth control over the counter will be a good thing as long as the counseling and the screening of every person is done at the store level -- which is going to be a task in and of itself,” McGrady said.
“You know a lot of pharmacists, much like myself, we’re going to need a little further education in selection of the birth control appropriate for the patient… Like blood pressure medicine or anything like that. You have to pick the right drug for the right person for the right reason.”
McGrady pointed out that, like a lot of medications, contraceptives have side effects; and they’re used for more than preventing unintended pregnancy. They’re also used to treat acne and medical conditions like endometriosis.
“When picking a birth control, there’s many side effects that we counsel all the time about. Patients' smoking, clots, we need to know their hormone status is, their last menses or period," McGrady said. "There’s a lot of counseling that goes into the start of birth control.”
The new law also allows qualified North Carolina pharmacists to give out HIV prevention medications, prenatal vitamins, nicotine replacement therapy, and emergency medicine for people with low blood sugar.