Lloydspharmacy makes morning after pill available in advance of need

Released on: March 27, 2009, 8:22 am
Author: Lloydspharmacy
Industry: Healthcare

Lloydspharmacy has become the first major healthcare brand to offer women the 'Morning After Pill' in advance of need.

The online service is aimed at women who are concerned that they may not be able to access the treatment, also known as Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC), when they need it, such as whilst travelling or during weekends and bank holidays. The new service is also ideal for women who may be anxious about visiting a pharmacy or their local GP for this type of medication.

The service is available through Lloydspharmacy as part of an online partnership between the pharmacy and the Healthcare Commission regulated online health expert DrThom.

"With the emergency pill, time is of the essence," said Clare Kerr, Head of Clinical Services at Lloydspharmacy, "The treatment is up to 95 per cent effective when taken 24 hours after sex but that reduces to 85 per cent in the following 24 hours and dips to 58 per cent in the next 24 hours."

"Most women know that the morning after pill can be taken up to three days after sex," she said, "but our pharmacists tell us that many women are unaware of the fact that effectiveness reduces during that period."

The Lloydspharmacy online service is explicitly not aimed at women who have just had unprotected sex. They are advised to visit their pharmacist or GP straight away. There is a 72 hour delay in despatching treatments to discourage women from using the service in this way.

The online pharmacy service will not knowingly be made available to patients under the age of 18 and treatments will only be despatched to the person whose name is on the credit or debit card used to make the payment online.

Women must fill in a comprehensive online medical questionnaire which is reviewed by DrThom before treatment can be prescribed and dispensed by post. Women are able to access advice from a DrThom GP using their confidential online patient record.

"Unplanned pregnancy is an issue that can affect all sexually active women, including those in long term relationships," said Clare Kerr. According to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, one in three women in the UK will have an abortion by the time they are 45 and about 30 per cent of all pregnancies are unplanned.

"We hope that our new service will go some way to reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and will help alleviate some of the anxiety women feel after they've had unprotected sex or a condom has split," Claire concluded.

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Editors notes

About Lloydspharmacy
Lloydspharmacy has around 1700 pharmacies across the UK. These are based predominantly in community and health centre locations. The company employs over 16,000 staff and dispenses over 145 million prescription items annually.

Lloydspharmacy is the trading name of Lloydspharmacy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celesio AG based in Stuttgart. Celesio is the leading pharmaceutical distribution company in Europe and is represented in 16 countries. With its three divisions, Celesio Wholesale, Celesio Pharmacies and Celesio Solutions, the group covers the entire scope of pharmaceutical trade and pharmaceutical-related services.

For more information please contact
Steve Marinker
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
3 London Wall Buildings
London Wall
London
EC2M 5SY
0207 282 2841
www.lloydspharmacy.com