Emergency contraception
=======================

* Garth McCutcheon

A recent *CMAJ* editorial1 on oral emergency contraception asked, “Why … must competent women … be regarded as fair game for unwanted questioning and unsought advice — at their own expense?” This undermines the valuable counselling services that pharmacists provide.

A pharmacist has studied drugs for a minimum of 4 years, is trained to provide emergency contraception services and is accessible evenings and weekends when a woman cannot get an appointment with her family doctor. This would seem to reflect a policy on scopes of practice issued jointly by the CMA, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Nurses Association: “scopes of practice statements should promote safe, ethical, high-quality care that responds to the needs of patients and the public in a timely manner, is affordable and is provided by competent health care providers.”2

We agree with *CMAJ* that women should not have to pay for these services. The Canadian Pharmacists Association believes that this medically necessary service should be covered as part of the government's insured health services. If Plan B were available everywhere, the result would be a new cost barrier to access because drug plans will not pay for a product that a woman can pick up in a convenience store.

## References

1.  1.Emergency contraception moves behind the counter [editorial]. CMAJ 2005;172(7):845.
    
    [FREE Full Text](http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiRlVMTCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6NDoiY21haiI7czo1OiJyZXNpZCI7czo5OiIxNzIvNy84NDUiO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyMjoiL2NtYWovMTczLzYvNTc1LjEuYXRvbSI7fXM6ODoiZnJhZ21lbnQiO3M6MDoiIjt9) 

2.  2.Canadian Medical Association. Scopes of practice [policy]. CMAJ 2002;166(2):236-7.
    
    [PubMed](http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/external-ref?access_num=11826951&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fcmaj%2F173%2F6%2F575.1.atom)