Indianapolis, Indiana – Later this year, because to a new Indiana law, pharmacists will be able to begin recommending birth control pills and patches to their patients.
According to the Indiana Pharmacy Association, women would not have to visit a doctor to get the prescription, which is now permitted in around half of all states in the United States.
“There are several counties in Indiana where there isn’t a provider who can provide contraception services, and so there is a pharmacy in all of those counties,” said Veronica Vernon, the group’s immediate past president.
Before writing a prescription, pharmacists will be required by law to examine patients and review their medical histories.
Students at Butler University are already receiving training in how to provide contraception, according to Vernon, a pharmacy professor there.
“If it’s the right drug, the right route for the right patient, learning about side effects, drug interactions,” she said. “This is exactly what pharmacists go to school for.”
In accordance with the law, people must visit a doctor within a year of receiving their first prescription from the pharmacy.
The bill had been proposed for a number of years, but it was until this year that it reached the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb.
“More access is typically better in my mind,” Holcomb recently told reporters.
Nearly a year after Indiana Republicans adopted a nearly complete ban on abortion, which is still on hold as it is being contested in court, the new legislation will go into force.
Rita Fleming, a state representative from Jeffersonville, said she thinks the law, along with the outcomes seen in other states, convinced more Republicans to back the proposal this year.
“Colorado saw a significant decrease in the first few years in unplanned pregnancies,” Fleming said. “They also saw significant savings for the state.”
The new rule in Indiana would only allow pharmacists to prescribe enough birth control to last for up to six months at a time.
Before pharmacists are allowed to begin administering contraceptives, state officials must first issue a standing order. According to Vernon, that is anticipated to be completed later this year.
