Pharmacists: furnishing contraceptives.

Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, establishes in the Department of Consumer Affairs the California State Board of Pharmacy to license and regulate the practice of pharmacy. Exiting law requires a pharmacist, when furnishing self-administered hormonal contraceptives, to follow specified standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by both the board and the Medical Board of California in consultation with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the California Pharmacists Association, and other appropriate entities. Existing law requires those standardized procedures or protocols to require that the patient use a self-screening tool that will identify related patient risk factors and that require the pharmacist to refer the patient for appropriate followup care, as specified. Existing law requires the pharmacist to provide the recipient of the drug with a standardized factsheet that includes the indications and contraindications for use of the drug, the appropriate method for using the drug, the need for medical followup, and other appropriate information. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist furnishing an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal…