ArticlePharmacoEconomics2019
Is Reclassification of the Oral Contraceptive Pill from Prescription to Pharmacist-Only Cost Effective? Application of an Economic Evaluation Approach to Regulatory Decisions.
Article in PharmacoEconomics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Self-care with non-prescription medicines to improve health care access and quality of life in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review and methodological approach.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Expanding Access to Oral Contraceptive Pills: Do Consumers Prefer Over-the-Counter Availability?The patient · 2026Article
- Community pharmacists improving equitable access to contraceptive methods: a commentary.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2025Article
- A qualitative exploration of the over-the-counter availability of oral contraceptive pills in Australia.PloS one · 2024Article
- Physicians' Opinion Regarding Extended Access to Hormonal Contraception in Switzerland.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Development of a pharmacoeconomic registry: an example using hormonal contraceptives.Health economics review · 2021Article
- Extended Access to Hormonal Contraception in Pharmacies: A Survey among Swiss Pharmacists.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveUnplanned pregnancies can lead to poorer maternal and child health outcomes. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration committee rejected reclassifying a range of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) from prescription to pharmacist-only medicines in 2015, mainly based on safety concerns. Improving access to OCPs may encourage some women to use contraceptives or switch from other contraceptive methods. However, some adverse events may increase and some women may stop using condoms, increasing their risk of sexually transmitted infections. This study aimed to estimate the cost effectiveness of reclassifying OCPs from prescription to pharmacist-only. PERSPECTIVE: Healthcare system.
settingAustralian primary care.
methodsA Markov model was used to synthesise data from a variety of sources. The model included all Australian women aged 15-49 years (N = 5,644,701). The time horizon was 35 years. Contraceptive use before reclassification was estimated using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, while survey data informed use after reclassification. Health outcomes included pregnancies, pregnancy outcomes (live birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy and abortion), sexually transmitted infections, adverse events (venous thromboembolism, depression, myocardial infarction and stroke), ovarian cancer cases and quality-adjusted life-years. Costs included those related to general practitioner and specialist consultations, contraceptives and other medicines, pharmacist time, hospitalisations and adverse events. All costs were reported in 2016 Australian Dollars. A 5% discount rate was applied to health outcomes and costs.
resultsReclassifying OCPs resulted in 85.70 million quality-adjusted life-years experienced and costs of $46,910.14 million over 35 years, vs. 85.68 million quality-adjusted life-years experienced and costs of $50,274.95 million with OCPs remaining prescription-only. Thus, reclassifying OCPs was more effective and cost saving. However, a sensitivity analysis found that more research on the probability of pregnancy in women not using contraception and not trying to conceive is needed.
conclusionReclassifying OCPs is likely to be considered cost effective by Australian decision makers.
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Registered trials
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