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Vermont News: New Law Allows Emergency Contraception Collaborative Practice to Begin
Published in the September 2007 Vermont Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
Vermont law, 26 Vermont Statutes Annotated (VSA) §§2078 & 2079 (Act 101) allows pharmacists who have taken a Pharmacy Board-approved training program to enter into a collab¬orative practice agreement with a Vermont prescriber in order to dispense emergency contraception directly from the pharmacy. The history of Act 101: In the spring of 2006, the Vermont legislature passed Act 101, now found as 26 VSA §§ 2078 & 2079, An Act Relating to Emergency Contraception. This law allowed for emergency contracep¬tion (usually levonorgestrel or Plan B®) to be dispensed to women of all ages via collaborative practice. The protocol for prescribing emergency contraception is set by rules written by the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) in collaboration with the Board of Pharmacy. The rules set up the system for pharmacists and prescribers to enter into a system of col¬laborative practice so as to allow the pharmacist to distribute emergency contraception medications without a direct prescription. This system of obtaining emergency contraception via collaborative practice is in place in eight other states and is designed to allow ready access to this time-sensitive medication. While Vermont was creating the state’s legislative rules for Act 101, in August of 2006 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) loosened prescription requirements for emergency contraception and allowed Plan B to be dispensed without a prescription by pharmacists to women 18 years and older who can demonstrate proof of age. This FDA ruling has made it somewhat easier for women to obtain emergency contraception, but the system still is not perfect. The Vermont collaborative practice system is still necessary for women who are under 18 years of age or those who would like to bill their insurance for the cost of the medication.
In order to participate in collaborative practice, pharmacists need to attend a Board-approved training session. The session will review the basics of emergency contraception and also the logistics of working within a collaborative practice. This system has been in place for a few years in Maine and New Hampshire, and for several years in Washington State, so lessons learned from those states will be discussed. Don Downing, RPh, from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy will be the main faculty for the training. This training will be held in the evening of Sunday, September 30, at a site in the greater Burlington area. Updates will be issued about the final site and times and registration information. Trainings for the central and southern sections of Vermont are planned for the winter and early spring. The Board of Pharmacy has pre-approved this training for 3 ½ hours of continuing education credit.
More information about the collaborative practice agreements and the training will be posted on the Web sites of the Vermont Board of Pharmacy, the Vermont Pharmacists Association, and the VDH.
