More than 2,700
prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) were written and
filled by pharmacists in the first 4 months of service.
There are currently more than 100 pharmacies in the state participating
in the Project.
More than 500 pharmacists have completed the required training to
prescribe ECPs.
Response to 1-888-NOT-2-LATE
Hotline
Calls from Washington
State to the Emergency Contraception Hotline (1-888-NOT-2-LATE) have
increased tenfold to an average of 1,160 per month since the Project’s
launch in late February of this year. Prior to the Project’s launch, calls
fromWashington State averaged about 110 per month.
Increasing Options/User Survey
Results *
50 percent of women said
that they obtained emergency contraception on a weekend or after 6 p.m. on a
weeknight.
42 percent of women reported that if they had not received ECPs directly
from a pharmacist they would have taken no action and would have waited to
see if they were pregnant. An additional 16 percent of women didn’t know
what they would have done if they could not have gone straight to the
pharmacy.
82 percent of women accessing services were between the ages of 18 and
35.
86 percent of women had never used ECPs before.
52 percent of women reported contraceptive failure.
57 percent of women reported learning through the media that they could
obtain ECPs directly from a pharmacist.
* (Data collected and analyzed from the first two months
of service)
Global Impact
The Project has been so
successful that many states have shown an interest in replicating it. In
addition, an organization in England, the Birth Control Trust, recently
contacted PATH for information about Washington State?s Project. Using the
Project as a model, they have come to an agreement to allow pharmacists in
England to supply ECPs without a doctor?s prescription.