Excellent news for anybody who’s ever had the horrifying realization that they’re nearly out of contraception drugs and so they want their prescription re-upped, like, yesterday: The US might quickly see its first ever over-the-counter (OTC) contraception tablet.
Two totally different FDA advisory teams voted unanimously (17-0) final week to approve OTC use of the drug Opill, the generic of which is norgestrel. The drug itself isn’t new; norgestrel was first accepted by the FDA in 1973 for being pregnant prevention. However, like all different contraception drugs, it has required a prescription.
Simply because the 2 advisory committees beneficial the drug doesn’t imply it will likely be mechanically out there: The FDA nonetheless has to make a last determination on whether or not or to not approve it for OTC use. A solution is anticipated to come back later this 12 months.
The potential advantages of OTC contraception drugs are large, Siripanth Nippita, MD, a scientific affiliate professor within the division of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Langone, tells SELF. “That is going to be a beautiful step ahead,” she says. “That is freedom—freedom to simply go to the shop and purchase it and never have to attend till the final attainable minute.”
Beneath, specialists reply questions on what larger entry to contraception drugs might appear to be—together with whether or not you need to think about switching for the sake of comfort, even when you have already got a contraception technique that works nicely for you.
Who will OTC contraception drugs profit essentially the most?
Larger entry to contraception drugs is sweet information for everybody, in keeping with Jennifer Lincoln, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn and government director of Mayday Well being, a well being schooling nonprofit. If Opill is accepted for OTC use, she says, it’s going to notably assist individuals who fall into sure classes, together with younger individuals who don’t really feel snug talking to their dad and mom about contraception choices; individuals who don’t have easy accessibility to a pharmacy as a result of they dwell in rural or in any other case underserved areas; individuals who can’t see a well being care supplier to get a prescription on account of an absence of insurance coverage; individuals who have had unhealthy or traumatizing experiences with docs and, subsequently, don’t like visiting them; and people who find themselves simply downright busy and don’t have time to see a physician frequently to ensure their prescription is up-to-date.
An OTC tablet would even be very helpful for individuals who merely can’t get an appointment to see an ob-gyn shortly: “It’s actually laborious to see a well being care supplier as of late,” Dr. Lincoln tells SELF. “It is perhaps six months out; then [that person] thinks they don’t have any different choices. However the capacity to say, ‘I need to begin this tomorrow and never have to fret about insurance coverage [or] a prescription’—that’s a sport changer.”
“For me and plenty of suppliers, that is an entry situation,” New York–based mostly gynecologist Alyssa Dweck, MD, FACOG, tells SELF. “The principle profit right here is simply rising entry to contraception to [anyone] who’s keen on it.”