The ACCP Women’s Health PRN has collaborated with the American Society for Emergency Contraception (ASEC) and the Reproductive Health Technologies Project to create a concise and comprehensive guide on emergency contraception (EC) product availability and access. This guide is intended for use as a reference for pharmacists as well as pharmacy or store management and staff.

In the past several years, there have been numerous new EC products and changes in regulations, such as restricting access because of age or checking identification. As a result, pharmacies are often unable to keep up with the latest products and changes. This has led to misinformation and refusals by community pharmacies, most commonly related to the window for use after unprotected intercourse and age or sex restrictions. We hope this guide will serve as an easy reference to stay current on access issues and available products.

The guide is updated as needed and is available on the ASEC Web site: http://americansocietyforec.org/uploads/3/2/7/0/3270267/pharmacy_ec_access_overview.pdf.

Pharmacies are encouraged to stock EC products and make them available on the over-the-counter shelves as well as to minimize barriers to access. Pharmacists can help provide evidence-based counseling on medications in addition to referrals for more effective methods of contraception and sexually transmitted infection screening/treatment. Please see your state laws regarding refusals for personal objections (overview by Guttmacher Institute: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_EC.pdf).