New Certificate Program Prepares Pharmacists for Contraception Care

Community pharmacists are emerging as pivotal providers of reproductive health care, stepping into roles once reserved almost exclusively for physicians and clinics. Across the United States, pharmacists are increasingly authorized to prescribe contraception, offer HIV prevention services, and support patients through key life stages—from pregnancy to menopause. Yet even as their clinical responsibilities expand, many pharmacies remain in survival mode, struggling with staffing shortages, financial pressures, and a reimbursement system that often fails to recognize pharmacists as health care providers.

In this environment, a new reproductive health certificate program aims to bridge critical gaps in both education and practice. Although pharmacy schools routinely cover the pharmacotherapy of contraception, they often stop short of fully training students in patient assessment, counseling, and implementation—the skills needed to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care at the counter.

Already, roughly two-thirds of states grant pharmacists authority to directly provide contraception care, and more are moving to cover services like HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and even expanded roles in pregnancy and postpartum care. Advocates argue that pharmacists—often the most accessible health professionals in their communities—are uniquely positioned to help address the United States’ persistent maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, as well as long-neglected needs around menopause.

Sally Rafie, PharmD, BCPS, APh, FCCP, FCPhA, founder of the Birth Control Pharmacist, discusses the barriers pharmacies face, how the program was built to be both comprehensive and practical, and why preparing pharmacists to practice at the top of their license is essential for meeting patients’ reproductive health needs in 2025 and beyond.

"I don't feel like every pharmacist out there needs to be a reproductive health expert. I know that reproductive health is a small part of what our pharmacists are doing every day," Rafie said. "They need to be able to take care of a wide variety of patient needs, and my goal is to get them the amount of knowledge and skills that they need to be able to provide this care for 95% of patients who walk through their doors."