Tasmanian women are now able to access extended prescriptions of the oral contraceptive pill at their local pharmacy. The change is part of a range of services being made available in Tasmania.
It allows eligible women with a prescription to get a two-year supply of their pill with just one script, rather than just one year’s supply.
Ms Helen O’Byrne, Guild Tas Branch President with Hon Guy Barnett, Health Minister and the Hon Jo Palmer MLC Minister for Education & Disability Services.
Pharmacists who have undergone additional training and received authorisation from the Department of Health can now supply up to 12 months of a combination or progestogen-only contraceptive pill to women between 16 and 50 years who have been stable on the pill for two years.
The Guild’s Tasmanian Branch President Ms Helen O’Byrne said the change was a welcome one for women who take the pill as a regular part of their health and wellbeing.
“Community pharmacies in Tasmania are well placed to be able to help women access oral contraceptive pill.
“They have already been providing the ‘morning after pill’ to women across the state to avoid a potential unplanned pregnancy. To do this, they provide counselling and advice and so are very aware that many Tasmanian women are not taking the pill.”
Tasmania has one of the highest rates of unplanned pregnancy in the country. A solution like this is welcome relief to the common experiences of delays accessing treatment and soaring out-of-pocket costs.
Tasmania’s Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Guy Barnett, said that it is “another common-sense reform our government has progressed to allow community pharmacies to deliver more services, helping to ease pressure on general practitioners and hospitals.”
“It will provide around 300 people per week with more convenient access to an extended supply of a much-needed medication.”
