Contraceptive Education and Certification for the Washington Pharmacist

Designed For: Designed for pharmacists prescribing self-administered hormonal contraception
Dates: Anytime
Delivery: Online
Cost: $250; If you are a pharmacist working in a pharmacy organization or chain, you may wish to contact your district or regional manager to determine if your company has partnered with Oregon State University College of Pharmacy to provide this education on a group contract.
Length: 4 hours
Units: Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE): 0.4 CEUs

Note: The curriculum is state-based, and pharmacists should complete Comprehensive Contraceptive Education and Certification for the state in which they practice. In addition to Washington, this online training program is also available for pharmacists practicing in California, Oregon and Colorado.

Women in the United States have had access to highly effective hormonal contraception in the form of an oral pill for decades. However, they have always needed to see their doctor or women’s health provider in order to get a prescription for it, causing what many believe to be an unnecessary hurdle. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have issued a formal statement that self-administered hormonal contraception should be made more accessible by removing this barrier. This is because the benefit of preventing unintended pregnancies by improving access to hormonal contraception outweighs the small risks associated with serious adverse events. Allowing pharmacists to provide hormonal contraception directly to women is one way to increase access now.

This is an exciting time for the profession of pharmacy because of the position and accessibility that many pharmacists can provide towards helping to improve access to hormonal contraception. Some states have now passed laws that allow women to obtain self-administered hormonal contraception directly from their pharmacist, and it’s possible that more states will follow.

While pharmacists are knowledgeable in being able to counsel women on the side effects and what to expect, before now they have never been in the role of starting or continuing a woman on any form of hormonal contraception. It is good to have a foundational knowledge on hormonal contraception, but prescribing it requires a deeper understanding of how to practice seeing patients and in making clinical decisions.

This training program has received significant support and guidance from several OBGYN members of ACOG, and is specifically designed to give pharmacists the tools needed to be confident and successful in prescribing and monitoring self-administered hormonal contraception.

Registration will require your NABP e-Profile ID number and your NPI number.

Your NABP number must be provided to complete the certification process, if you need help with obtaining your NABP number please contact Tabetha Gould.

Your NPI number, for State of Washington billing processes, will be provided to payers upon completion of this program.

Work with an individual woman to choose the best and most effective contraceptive method for her.
Build a strong knowledge base for hormonal contraceptives including the mechanism of action, doses, types, use, benefits, and risks.
Effectively counsel patients on the importance of adherence, missed pills, interactions, and side effects of combined hormonal contraceptives.
Recognize the purpose of the self-assessment questionnaire, and how it relates to the US Medical Eligible Criteria guidelines published by the CDC.
Assess an individual woman's risk when compared to the benefits of combined hormonal contraception in order to determine whether or not she should be referred to her women's health provider.
Utilize tools that will aid in how to incorporate a service that provides hormonal contraception to women at a community pharmacy or ambulatory care site.

Instructors Who Developed This Course

Lorinda Anderson, PharmD, BCPS, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at OSU/OHSU’s College of Pharmacy who teaches in the P2 year Pharmacy Practice course and the women’s health lectures in therapeutics. She also works as a clinical pharmacist at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis where she rounds with the medical resident teaching teams. Lorinda’s primary interest is in women’s health where she serves on several State committees including the One Key Question advisory council and on the work group for the Oregon Board of Pharmacy to implement HB 2879 where pharmacists prescribe hormonal birth control. She is also involved with research to look at outcomes related to several new state laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control.

Adriane Irwin, PharmD, BCACP, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the OSU/OHSU College of Pharmacy. She joined the faculty after completing a fellowship in Ambulatory Care & Practice-Based Research at Kaiser Permanente Colorado. She currently maintains rural clinical practice site at the Monroe Health Center, a federally qualified health center within the Community Health Centers of Benton & Linn Country, and teaches both didactically and in experiential rotations in the professional program.

Mark Leid, PhD, BPharm, received a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Washington State University in 1983 and spent two years practicing pharmacy in Walla Walla before entering graduate school at OSU where he received a PhD in pharmacology in 1989. Mark then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes in Strasbourg, France.

Leid is now a full professor of Pharmacology and serves as the Associate Dean for Research in the OSU College of Pharmacy. He also holds an Affiliate Professorship in the OHSU School of Dentistry. He is actively involved in teaching endocrine pharmacology to both pharmacy and dental students, and has been voted pharmacy professor of the year four times.