Pharmacists’ Ability to Increase Contraceptive Access Through Necessary Support

With pharmacists showing constant proof of their unique positioning in communities across the US, many experts believe they are the ideal providers to recorrect the variation in contraceptive services provided throughout the country today. Despite obstacles like improper infrastructure, low reimbursement, and failing staff support, pharmacists believe they can support patients seeking contraceptive care amid all of the legal and regulatory hurdles.

“Nineteen million women live in counties that have few to no contraceptive clinics, and we know that nearly 4 million of those women are living below the poverty line,” Lissette Logan, PharmD, COO at OvaryIt, told Drug Topics. “You have 90% of Americans that live within a 5-mile radius of a pharmacy. That proximity alone makes pharmacists a natural access point for patients.”

Throughout our interview series with Logan, we explored issues, challenges, and opportunities in the contraceptive care space. Along with an independent pharmacist colleague—Danielle Weaver, RPh, owner of Big Sandy Pharmacy and Wolves Den Pharmacy in rural Montana—Logan touched on the current state of reproductive health care in the US and what her company, OvaryIt, is doing to help pharmacists and their patients improve care on a day-to-day basis.

“There [have been] meaningful milestones that are very important for pharmacy, but access on paper and access in practice don't really look the same,” continued Logan. “The laws are there, and we just really don't have systems in place to make contraceptive truly accessible. We don't have anything that's truly built with pharmacists or pharmacies in mind.”

Learn more about Logan and Weaver’s experience in contraceptive care and stay tuned for more from our interview with the duo, who will further discuss the pharmacists’ role in reproductive services and how OvaryIt is combining pharmacist expertise and revolutionary technology.

READ MORE: Women’s Health Resource Center

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