The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7401 p583
20 May 2006

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Pharmacy EHC is more effective

Quicker access to emergency hormonal contraception from community pharmacies using patient group directions makes it more effective than obtaining it from family planning clinics.

Research carried out in 2003 at West Kent Primary Care Trust and published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2006;61-5:605) found that the median time taken by young women aged 13 to 20 years to obtain EHC from a pharmacy was 16 hours. This was much less than the median time taken to obtain EHC from family planning clinics (41 hours).

Researchers Kay Marshall, from the University of Bradford, and Gaye Lewington, from West Kent PCT, say: “This reduction in access time is statistically and, therefore, clinically significant, representing a potential 10 per cent increase in the prevention of unintended pregnancies.”

EHC is 95 per cent effective if taken less than 24 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse, but only 85 per cent effective if taken between 24 and 48 hours afterwards.

David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “This study shows that pharmacists play a crucial role in helping to prevent unwanted pregnancies by providing their patients with fast and convenient access to EHC, maximising the pills’ effectiveness by as much as 10 per cent.”