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Contraception on Demand

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Contraception on Demand (COD) offers VA facilities the opportunity to expand contraceptive access for Veterans, improve Veteran experiences with reproductive healthcare at VA, and expand VA clinical pharmacists' scope of practice and job satisfaction. The practice is easy to adopt and implement and is achievable at very low cost to the individual facility and an estimated cost savings for the health system at large.

This innovation is replicating across multiple facilities as its impact continues to be validated. See more replicating innovations.

Adoptions:

2 successful, 2 in-progress

Awards and Recognition:

Diffusion of Excellence Promising Practice, VHA Shark Tank Winner

Partners:

Clinical Pharmacy Practice Office, Pharmacy Benefits Management Services, Women’s Health

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Overview

The problem

Consistent contraceptive use is the most effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy; however, gaps in contraceptive coverage due to access issues or prescription refill delays are major barriers to consistent use. VA offers all FDA-approved contraceptive methods but generally limits dispensing for prescriptions to a 3-month supply and requires Veterans to r ... See more

Images

Number of reproductive-age women Veterans by VA health care system (Image credit: Siobhan Mahorter, MPH)

The solution

Primary care clinical pharmacy practitioners (CPPs) were trained to conduct patient-centered contraceptive counseling and prescribe hormonal contraception using a shared-decision model; local approval to order and dispense 12-month supplies was secured. Veterans accessed the program via multiple pathways (e.g., direct calls, provider referral, pharmacy outre ... See more

The results

COD CPPs completed 74 consults during the study timeframe. Of those, 57 Veterans received prescriptions for hormonal contraception (17 new prescriptions, 40 refills of existing prescriptions) and 6 Veterans were referred for LARC placement. The remaining Veterans who didn’t receive a prescription were referred to primary care for either (1) safety concerns r ... See more

Images

Results from the Contraception on Demand demonstration project (July 2021 - January 2022) (Image credit: Shannon Mitchell, MSW, MPH)

Veteran and Pharmacist Feedback on Contraception on Demand

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

Statuses

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Implementation

Timeline

  • Pre-Implementation
    • Identify local clinical pharmacy specialist(s) interested in providing hormonal
    contraception.
    • Identify local pharmacy and primary care/women’s health champions.
    • Secure local pharmacy approval for 12-month dispensing (this step includes
    having site ADPAC change the drug file to allow for 12 months)
    • Work with informatics to import and activate “Contraception on Demand” CPRS
    note templates for initial and follow-up consults.
    • Ensure CPPs complete training in patient-centered contraceptive counseling and
    hormonal contraceptive prescribing (including competency assessment)
    • Establish workflow processes (e.g., quarterly pharmacy outreach to patients due
    for a refill, scheduling Veterans referred by provider, scheduling Veterans who
    call or walk in, process for curbside WH consults)
  • Implementation
    • Inform pharmacy (including ADPAC, clinical, outpatient dispensing), women’s
    health, and primary care providers and stakeholders when program is active.
    • Market the program to Veterans and providers
  • Sustainment
    • Schedule regular presentations to primary care and women’s health provider
    teams
    • Continue outreach to Veterans due for refills

Departments

  • Gynecology
  • Marketing
  • Pharmacy
  • Information technology
  • Primary care
  • Women Veteran care

Core Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • One local physician champion
  • One clinical pharmacy specialist (0.2 FTE)
  • One clinical informatics staff member (most of this person's work will occur in the pre-implementation stage)
  • One project coordinator (e.g., physician, CPP, pharmacy technician, medical support assistant, health or research trainee, or other interested staff member; 0.2 FTE)
PROCESSES
  • Training for CPPs on patient-centered contraceptive counseling and hormonal contraceptive prescribing
TOOLS
  • Support/buy-in from local pharmacy leadership is critical to ensure protected time for pharmacist training and facilitate local pharmacy inventory updates.

Optional Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • One or more pharmacy technicians or medical support assistants to support scheduling Veterans eligible for refills
  • Public Affairs assistance to develop local marketing strategies and produce facility- or healthcare system-specific marketing materials

Support Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • Team member consultation
PROCESSES
  • Workflow consultation
  • Ongoing data collection and evaluation
TOOLS
  • Pharmacist training materials
  • Implementation guide (includes: standard operating procedure, CPRS note templates, sample marketing strategy and marketing materials, pharmacist competency quiz)

Risks and mitigations

Risk Mitigation
Pharmacist comfort & skill with contraceptive prescribing With appropriate training on (a) the pharmacology and mechanisms of action of each contraceptive method on the VA formulary and (b) how to conduct patient-centered contraceptive counseling, there is minimal risk associated with this practice. Pharmacist provision of hormonal contraception is SAFE (see results section above).
Veterans with complex medical history Designating a local women's health provider (e.g., physician or mid-level provider) who can be available to consult with pharmacists (e.g., via MSTeams messaging or in-person precepting) provides pharmacists with a clear plan of action when a Veteran's medical or medication history is particularly complex. Referring the Veteran to women's health for follow-up is another option if real-time curbside assistance isn't available.

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Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

VA User (Pharmacist) Innovation owner posted

It was an honor to be a part of implementing this program and serving our Women Veterans!

VA User (REGISTERED NURSE) posted

Very proud of our VAPHS and Seattle teams for contributing to the access of safe contraception options for our Veterans.

VA User (Psychologist) posted

Thank you for this wonderful program!

1
VA User (REGISTERED NURSE) edited

As a female veteran, of child bearing age, this sounds like a great program!

2
VA User (Nurse Residency Coordinator) posted

I am very happy to see this; expanding access to care to our Veterans!

2
VA User (Physician) posted

Glad to see this is happening!

2
VA User (Psychologist) posted

so pleased that we are offering this to insure access to all Veterans with minimal barriers. Reproductive health is HEALTH.

2
VA User (Physician) Innovation adopter posted

I am a primary care provider at the VA Puget Sound Seattle Division, and this innovation has been incredibly helpful for our veterans, giving them timely, seamless access to contraception while at the same time reducing workload for PCPs by leveraging the skills and expertise of the interprofessional team!

2

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About

Origin story

In July 2019, research by members of our team on the financial and reproductive health implications for the VA of implementing a 12-month dispensing option for hormonal contraception (namely, cost savings for VA and a reduction in unintended pregnancy among women Veterans) garnered a lot of media attention. The VAPHS clinical pharmacy supervisor (Amy Plumley ... In July 2019, research by members of our team on the financial and reproductive health implications for the VA of implementing a 12-month dispensing option for hormonal contraception (namely, cost savings for VA and a reduction in unintended pregnancy among women Veterans) garnered a lot of media attention. The VAPHS clinical pharmacy supervisor (Amy Plumley, PharmD) reached out to a member of the research team (Sonya Borrero, MD, MS) to say "I think we have the local flexibility to do this in Pittsburgh, how can we try it out?" Dr. Borrero and Dr. Deirdre Quinn assembled a team with representatives from pharmacy, research, and women's health and began planning a demonstration project with colleagues at VA Puget Sound ... and the rest is history!

Original team

Sonya Borrero

Co-Director, Advanced Fellowship in Women's Health, VA Pittsburgh

Deirdre Quinn

Core Investigator, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh

Brandon Herk

Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner, VA Pittsburgh

Beth Desanzo

Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner, VA Pittsburgh

Meghan McLinden

Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner, VA Pittsburgh

Amy Plumley

Clinical Pharmacy PACT Supervisor, VA Pittsburgh

Sarah Merriam

Attending Physician, Primary Care, VA Pittsburgh

Sheila Tunney

Public Affairs Officer, VA Pittsburgh

Lora McBrearty

Informatics, VA Pittsburgh

Mark Thompson

Informatics Nurse, VA Pittsburgh

Maria Mor

Director, CHERP Biostatistics and Informatics Core, VA Pittsburgh

Lucy Speerhas

Chief of Pharmacy, VA Pittsburgh

Deborah Dinardo

Women's Health Medical Director, VA Pittsburgh

Nicole McCune

Women Veterans Program Manager, VA Pittsburgh

Lisa Callegari

Attending Physician, OB/GYN, VA Puget Sound

Jaime Heissler

Pharmacy Clinical Supervisor, VA Puget Sound

Carolyn Gardella

Attending Physician, Chief of Gynecology, VA Puget Sound

Emily Ashbaugh

Women's Health Medical Director, VA Puget Sound

Hollye Bondurant

Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner, VA Puget Sound

Jennifer Chin

Research Associate, VA Puget Sound

Siobhan Mahorter

Research Health Science Specialist, VA Puget Sound

Diane Nguyen

Informatics Nurse, VA Puget Sound

Tammy Begasse

Public Affairs Officer, VA Puget Sound

Elizabeth Evans

Medical Support Specialist, VA Puget Sound

Ali Icenogle

Clinical Pharmacy Resident, VA Puget Sound

Jennifer Mecca

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, VA Puget Sound

Maria Montecupo

Pharmacy Technician, VA Pittsburgh

Laura Johnson

Pharmacy Technician, VA Pittsburgh

Laura Danovich

Pharmacy Technician, VA Pittsburgh