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Pharmacy Access Partnership assists pharmacy and advocacy communities to improve how women access emergency contraception (EC) by promoting communication, leveraging resources, and building an understanding of options for change at the state and national level. Advances in deregulating EC can occur at both the federal and state level. On August 24, 2006, the FDA decided to make Plan B EC available without a prescription for consumers 18 and older. Although the federal government has the sole authority to change a drug status from prescriptive to over-the-counter (OTC), states have considerable power, deciding who can prescribe. Currently nine states (AK, CA, HI, MA, ME, NH, NM, WA and VT) allow women to access EC directly at the pharmacy, and a number of states have introduced legislation to adopt similar policies. Following the FDA decision, all women, including teens and women without proof of age, will still be able to obtain EC directly from specially trained pharmacists (in the states that allow pharmacy access to EC). Click here for more information on the FDA decision. Pharmacy Access Partnership created www.GO2EC.org, a website specifically for pharmacists and health care advocates to share resources and best practices around successfully improving access to EC. Pharmacy Access Partnership also supports expanded access to EC at the state level by convening national meetings, supporting research, publishing on pharmacists’ role in improving access to EC, providing technical assistance, and training pharmacists.
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