WOMEN WILL SOON be able to go to their local pharmacist to get their repeat contraception prescription rather than returning to their GP, under new legislation being brought forward by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
The minister of health will seek approval from the government to publish the Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill, which will expand the free contraception scheme to pharmacies.
An expert taskforce on the expansion of the role of pharmacies recommended they should be enabled to continue a prescription for contraception such as the contraceptive pill, patch and ring beyond 12 months.
Women will need to have been prescribed the contraception by a GP in the first instance, with repeat prescriptions allowed at a pharmacy.
Under the free contraception scheme, women aged between 17 and 35, can make a GP appointment for free to discuss their options for free contraception.
Women do not need to pay for the appointment or the prescription fees.
However, rather than having to revisit their GP six or 12 months after getting their first prescription for contraception, women will be able to seek their repeat prescription from their pharmacist.
To enable pharmacies to deliver contraception prescriptions to women free of charge, the legal framework for the scheme must be amended to include prescribing pharmacists.
Expanding the service is part of the government’s work to increase the role of the pharmacist in the community while also freeing up much-needed GP capacity.
In addition to the draft Bill, the department has also prepared clinical protocols and training with the input of clinicians, pharmacy representatives and regulators.
The government believes the inclusion of the pharmacists under the free contraception scheme should offer savings, both in terms of costs to the State and in terms of opening up GP capacity.
Women can still return to their GP if they wish
Women can still avail of a free GP appointment to renew their contraception prescription or discuss their options, if they so wish.
While the protocols have yet to be published, it’s suggested that women under 35 will be able to renew their contraception prescription through their pharmacy, reverting to their GP every 5 years. Meanwhile, women over 35 will see their GP every two years.
According to clinical protocols that have been prepared for this service, GPs with concerns over specific higher risk patients are free to indicate that they should not participate in the pharmacy scheme and should return to a doctor more regularly.
Similarly, detailed protocols prepared for the pharmacy service mandate that pharmacists should revert patients to their doctor, should additional risks be disclosed by patients as part of pharmacy consultations.
Free contraception scheme
In 2024, free contraception was made available to women up to the age of 35.
The scheme provides for the cost of prescription contraception, including the cost of consultations with medical professionals and fitting and/or removal of various types of contraceptives.
The programme for government commits to expanding the free contraception scheme to the full reproductive age-range.
The government expects that any expansion to women older than 35 is likely to substantially increase demand for long-acting reversible contraception, which can only be inserted, checked and removed by GPs, thus increasing demand on GP access routes.
The move to allow pharmacists renew a contraception prescription aims to alleviate some of that expected demand.
MacNeill has said any further expansion of the scheme must be considered through the estimates process in advance of the annual budget each year. In May, the minister indicated the expansion might not take place in this year’s budget, due to competing demands on the health budget.