RI House Passes Bill Allowing Pharmacies to Prescribe Birth Control

RI House Passes Bill Allowing Pharmacies to Prescribe Birth Control

The Rhode Island House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow pharmacies to prescribe birth control.

The bill was introduced by State Representative Camille F.J. Vella-Wilkinson (D-Dist. 21, Warwick).

“Taking time off work, finding transportation to a clinic and paying for a doctor’s visit is a lot of work to get birth control. Pharmacist-prescribed birth control would improve the quality of life for so many women, which is an important goal of our evolving health care system,” said Vella-Wilkinson.

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The legislation now moves to the Senate.

The Bill

The bill (2020-H 7073) would authorize a pharmacist to prescribe and dispense hormonal contraceptive patches and self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives, provided that the pharmacist has completed a training program approved by the state board of pharmacy.

The legislation would limit prescriptions to those patients who are at least 18 years of age, unless the patient has evidence of a previous prescription from a primary care practitioner or women’s health care practitioner.

The pharmacist would also be required to provide a self-screening risk assessment tool that the patient must use prior to the pharmacist’s prescribing the birth control.

Vella-Wilkinson added, “Pharmacists are highly underutilized health care professionals. Laws that keep developing and whose policies are incorporated into practice will allow the profession to expand and better serve patients. Prescribing birth control is a major step in pharmacists’ ability to take some of the workload off physicians, use their knowledge to the fullest, and enhance the patient’s health care experience.”

Rhode Island would join 12 other states that have existing laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control.