Mifepristone Access Through Community Pharmacies When Regulated as a Routine Prescription Medication
This cross-sectional study found 99% of reproductive-aged BC females lived within a 15-minute drive of a mifepristone-dispensing pharmacy; however, despite relatively good geographic coverage and mifepristone being available as a routine prescription, 23% of pharmacies neither dispensed within 3 days nor provided a valid referral, putting the onus on patients to identify a dispensing pharmacy. These findings may inform policy and initiatives to enhance pharmacist referral networks and improve mifepristone access, as well as service planning for international jurisdictions considering a similar medication abortion framework.
Authors
- Dawn Mooney
- C. Shan Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8564-7836)
- Michael R. Law (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-6053)
- Giuliana Guarna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5095-7201)
- Carissa Chan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3054-0879)
- Elizabeth Nethery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3453-9800)
- Sheila Dunn
- Mary Helmer‐Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7745-7012)
- Wendy V. Norman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4340-7882)
- Robert Pammett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1173-394X)
- Enav Z. Zusman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1321-5022)
- Laura Schummers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3536-0498)
- Andrea Stucchi
Institutions
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Women's College Hospital (CA)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- O'Brien Institute (AU)
- Faculty of Public Health (GB)
- Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (CA)
- McMaster University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JAMA Network Open
- Published
- 2025-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.42096
- Primary Topic
- Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00