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Women in Victoria will soon be able to get the contraceptive pill without a prescription. GPs have slammed a move by the state government warning it's a shortcut that could put women at risk. But the state's premier claims the initiative will save women time and money.

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00:02Getting the contraceptive pill is about to become even easier for Victorian women.
00:07Women are busier than ever and we want to find ways to give them more time back.
00:12Currently women needing a repeat can access the pill without a script,
00:16but from July even women wanting to try the pill for the first time
00:20will be able to do so without a GP visit at one of 850 participating pharmacies.
00:26The hassle of having to shop around, get a bulk billing GP appointment,
00:31reorganising your whole day around that appointment, that takes time.
00:34The move has been backed by the Pharmacy Guild,
00:36but GPs have accused the government of putting women at risk.
00:40A politician who doesn't have any medical training is not the right person
00:44to decide about the safe use of medications or to override the opinion of the TGA.
00:49In 2021, the TGA ruled the pill should only be prescribed by doctors
00:54due to its potential adverse effects like blood clots and an increased risk of stroke.
01:00The RACGP says pharmacists aren't trained to conduct the necessary medical screening.
01:05I am concerned that there are going to be adverse outcomes.
01:08I think that there will be more women potentially having unplanned pregnancy
01:12because of pill failure who otherwise could have had larks.
01:15I think there will be people who are not getting the STI screening
01:18that they otherwise would have if they came into general practice.
01:21The government says pharmacists who want to offer the service
01:24will have to undergo extra training,
01:26while women seeking a prescription for the first time
01:29will receive a free consultation.
01:32Whether that's high blood pressure, whether that's migraine, endometriosis,
01:36the scope of the pharmacist would mean that we wouldn't initiate in that setting
01:42and we would actually work with our colleagues and chicken practitioners.
01:44More than 17,000 Victorian women received a resupply of the contraceptive pill
01:49from a pharmacist during the scheme's trial.
01:52Do that now so as you can use that as a nurse their examiner becauseCH детers
01:52may not disappoint all because it does not work worth a drug burden.
01:54There's no fear
01:54at the sameين disposal. Thank you. Hopefully,
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