Pharmacists to offer counselling to women requesting emergency contraceptive pill

Women wanting the emergency contraceptive pill will be asked by pharmacists to take part in a private counselling session to explore birth control options as part of a new national trial.

Pharmacists would offer private birth control counselling to young women who turn up wanting the emergency contraceptive pill or early medical abortion as part of an Australian-first trial to reduce accidental pregnancies.

Instead of simply handing over the pills, pharmacists would instead ask if a woman would take part in a private-room counselling session on the available birth control options before referring them to a relevant clinic.

The federal government has invested almost $2.5 million towards the Monash University trial which will be conducted in 21 pharmacies in NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory.

University Department of General Practice Head, Professor Danielle Mazza, said the aim was to involve 1200 women – including teenagers.

Women asking for emergency contraceptive birth control pills will be counselled by pharmacists.

“It’s really about getting the pharmacist to be proactive at a point when women need it most,” she said.

“If women are presenting to a pharmacy for emergency contraception, then they are worried they might be pregnant because they are not using contraception or it has failed.

“If they are seeking an early medical abortion, it means they have fallen pregnant. That is an ideal time for a pharmacist to provide contraceptive counselling and refer them back into services that can provide them with a pill prescription, IUD or implant.”

The trial is part of an $11.7 million federal government scheme to support the safe use of medicines among patients.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said an estimated 400,000 people presented to emergency departments each year with medication problems, of which 250,000 were hospitalised.

“All Australians will take some form of medication throughout their lives for a number of reasons, but using medicines are not without risk,” Mr Hunt said.

The federal government scheme also supports the safe use of medicines.

The 2020 Quality, Safety and Effectiveness of Medicine Use and Medicine Intervention by Pharmacists grant recipients would tackle some of the common prescription drug issues for at-risk groups, he said.

Other projects include almost $1.9 million for Sydney University trial in which pharmacies will screen people for kidney disease before making recommendations to their GP on medication dosages.

Lead researcher Dr Ronald Castelino said: “Many medications – including those used for the treatment of diabetes and high blood pressure – are cleared via our kidneys.

“But if someone has kidney disease, they will not be clearing those medicines as well and these medications can accumulate in our body increasing the risk of side effects.”

A separate Sydney University trial — led by Professor Timothy Chen and receiving more than $2.4 million — will focus on building better systems for pharmacists and GPs to work more closely together in reducing medication-related harm, especially in patients taking five or more medicines.