Health

In Wash., the pill without a doctor

SEATTLE - Step right up to the pharmacy counter, answer 23 questions and walk out with birth control pills.

That's all it takes for women enrolled in a study that is believed to be the first effort in the nation to offer hormonal contraceptives at drugstores without a doctor's prescription.

The University of Washington aims to find out if women and pharmacists are comfortable with drugstore delivery of birth control pills, patches and vaginal rings.

That doesn't mean women should stop going to the doctor for annual checkups to guard against sexually transmitted diseases and other problems. But most medical organizations agree it is not necessary to have a pelvic exam to get birth control pills.

The best situation is for every woman to have immediate access to medical care, "but there are women who don't have access, and there are some barriers and difficulties," said Dr. Robert Palmer Jr., an obstetrician-gynecologist on the study's advisory board.

More than 50 women have enrolled since the study was launched Feb. 23 by the UW School of Pharmacy and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with funding from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers hope to enroll 300 women.

Women 18 to 45 years old can visit any of eight Fred Meyer or Bartell pharmacies in Seattle and its suburbs, complete a questionnaire and have their weight and blood pressure checked.

Pharmacists screen out women who are very obese, are heavy smokers or have high blood pressure, a history of breast cancer, blood clots or other risk factors.

If they pass a good-health checklist, they can obtain three months of birth control pills or patches right away, and an additional nine months' worth at a followup visit. The price is $25 per visit plus the medicine. Insurance companies generally will not pay.

Washington state has a long history of bold moves regarding women's health. It became the first state to legalize abortion through a vote of the people when an initiative was approved in 1970.

And Washington was also the first to allow the morning-after pill to be given out without a doctor's prescription. A University of Washington study in 1997-99 pioneered the practice - and it spread. Emergency contraception now is available at pharmacists' counters in California, Hawaii, Alaska and New Mexico.

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