Physician Attitudes Toward Over the Counter Availability for Oral Contraceptives

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Abstract
To assess physician attitude towards making oral contraceptives available over the counter in the United States (US). We assessed physician attitudes towards a transition from prescription only to over-the-counter availability (rx-OTC) for oral contraceptive pills by disseminating an electronic survey directed primarily to residents training in Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) and Family Practice in the US. An overwhelming majority of 638 respondents (71 %) were against an rx-OTC switch for combined oral contraceptives and among this subset of respondents the primary concern was safety (92.3 %). Overall, respondents were evenly divided on the issue of an rx-OTC switch for progestin-only-pills but of those who opposed, 73.2 % cited safety as their primary concern. For progestin-only-pills female respondents were more likely to support OTC availability. Most OBGYN and Family Practice residents opposed to OTC availability for oral contraceptives cite safety as their primary concern. Considering the abundant evidence as to the overall safety of oral contraceptives, especially progestin-only-pills, there appears to be a knowledge deficit among OBGYN and Family Practice residents regarding the safety of oral contraceptives.