2005 SESSION

05-0937

01/09

SENATE BILL 30

COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes the Collaborative Practice for Emergency Contraception Act. Under this bill, a pharmacist may initiate emergency contraception drug therapy in accordance with procedures developed by the New Hampshire pharmacy board and a physician or other authorized prescriber who is acting within his or her scope of practice.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05-0937

01/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

131:1 Statement of Purpose. The general court recognizes that unintended pregnancies are a major public health concern affecting individuals and society in general. Each year, about 3,500,000 unintended pregnancies occur in this country, half of which result from contraceptive failure or inadequate contraceptive technique. Emergency contraception is a highly cost-effective method of reducing unintended pregnancies and is most effective the earlier it is used. However, there are often significant barriers to women obtaining emergency contraception in a timely manner. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and more than 50 other national organizations support increased access to emergency contraception. The purpose of this act is to enable pharmacists with appropriate training and who are working in collaboration with an authorized prescriber to initiate emergency contraception oral drug therapy in order to increase timely access to emergency contraception.

131:2 New Paragraph; Rulemaking Added. Amend RSA 318:5-a by inserting after paragraph XV the following new paragraph:

XVI. Procedures and protocols for emergency contraception drug therapy, pursuant to RSA 318:47-e.

131:3 New Section; Collaborative Practice for Emergency Contraception Act Established. Amend RSA 318 by inserting after section 47-d the following new section:

318:47-e Procedures for Dispensing Emergency Contraception.

I. In this section, “emergency contraception” means an elevated dose of hormones used to prevent pregnancy.

II. A pharmacist may initiate emergency contraception drug therapy in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols developed by the board, adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, and an authorized prescriber who is acting within his or her scope of practice.

III. Prior to performing any procedure authorized under this section, a pharmacist shall successfully complete emergency contraception drug therapy education and training in accordance with continuing education requirements established by the board. A pharmacist who has had sufficient recent education and training in emergency contraception may be exempted from the requirements of this section.

IV. For each emergency contraception drug therapy initiated pursuant to this section, the pharmacist shall provide each recipient of the emergency contraceptive drugs with a standardized fact sheet that includes, but is not limited to: the indications for the use of the drug, the appropriate method for using the drug, information on the importance of follow-up health care, and health care referral information. The board shall develop this fact sheet in consultation with the commissioner of the department of health and human services, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other relevant health care organizations.

V. Nothing in the section shall affect the requirements of existing law relating to maintaining the confidentiality of medical records.

VI. Nothing in this section shall limit the manner in which emergency contraception can be dispensed.

131:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

(Approved: June 16, 2005)

(Effective Date: August 15, 2005)