Spring Break
Health Center offers Plan B OTC
Gentry Lassiter
Issue date: 3/26/07 Section: News
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The Pat Walker Health Center is offering an emergency contraceptive over the counter to those in need.
In a Jan. 30 announcement on its Web site, the campus care provider indicated that it would offer Plan B $33 plus tax to students 18 and older with a government-issued photo identification form.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Plan B for over-the-counter use on Aug. 24, 2006, after a yearlong debate on whether it is safe for such distribution.
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive for victims of sexual assault or incidents in which unprotected sex or contraceptive failure has occurred, according to the Web site of manufacturer Duramed, a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals.
Plan B is most effective within 72 hours of unprotected sex and "when you have the hurdle of going to a doctor's office for a prescription, there's really no way you can get it within 12 hours," said Nicole Safar, public policy analyst for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, in a Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News article by Stacy Forster.
Lisa Terry, a pharmacist and acting director of the Pat Walker Health Center pharmacy, said that as many as 12 people have already purchased the medication since it has been offered over-the-counter by the pharmacy.
"All we do is check a student's government-issued identification, like a driver's license," Terry said. She said that foreign embassies can issue documents that would be acceptable forms for exchange students.
The announcement indicated that those who are younger than 18 can purchase the drug for the same price if a prescription is provided.
The side effects of Plan B would be similar to that of ordinary birth control pills, Terry said.
"Nausea would be the most common side effect," she said.
The medication is effective for up to three days after unprotected sex and provides 89 percent effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. But its manufacturer indicated that effectiveness decreases as time elapses.
In a Jan. 30 announcement on its Web site, the campus care provider indicated that it would offer Plan B $33 plus tax to students 18 and older with a government-issued photo identification form.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Plan B for over-the-counter use on Aug. 24, 2006, after a yearlong debate on whether it is safe for such distribution.
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive for victims of sexual assault or incidents in which unprotected sex or contraceptive failure has occurred, according to the Web site of manufacturer Duramed, a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals.
Plan B is most effective within 72 hours of unprotected sex and "when you have the hurdle of going to a doctor's office for a prescription, there's really no way you can get it within 12 hours," said Nicole Safar, public policy analyst for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, in a Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News article by Stacy Forster.
Lisa Terry, a pharmacist and acting director of the Pat Walker Health Center pharmacy, said that as many as 12 people have already purchased the medication since it has been offered over-the-counter by the pharmacy.
"All we do is check a student's government-issued identification, like a driver's license," Terry said. She said that foreign embassies can issue documents that would be acceptable forms for exchange students.
The announcement indicated that those who are younger than 18 can purchase the drug for the same price if a prescription is provided.
The side effects of Plan B would be similar to that of ordinary birth control pills, Terry said.
"Nausea would be the most common side effect," she said.
The medication is effective for up to three days after unprotected sex and provides 89 percent effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. But its manufacturer indicated that effectiveness decreases as time elapses.
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