How do I action requests for Contraceptive Pills?

We’ve developed a protocol to use when patients request contraception.

The protocol will work out whether it is safe to be issued, or whether patients need to complete a questionnaire, or whether it shouldn’t be issued at all, e.g. if they’re not safe to be on their current contraception. 

It can also be configured to largely signpost patients to community services rather than continuing to prescribe, or never signpost to community services.

It works in a similar way to the protocol for patients requesting meds that have gone past their review date.

Where can I find the protocol?

You can launch it from the Prescribing Overview template:

or on the Contraception page of the Prescribing Overview template:

or on the Prescribing Overview view (if it's on your clinical tree): 

What does the protocol do?

When you action the protocol you’ll see messages like this:

You can then click "SEND Questionnaire" to open the Communication Annex and send a text with a link to the patient. 

For new contraceptive pills, it will also give the option to signpost to the Community Pharmacy Contraception Service, or it can be configured to do this for pills that are due an annual review too. In this instance the message may look like this:

Let us know if you would like the protocol configured to always signpost to community pharmacy services.

In some instances a patient who has been signposted to the Community Pharmacy Contraception Services returns to the Practice, and we have further developed the protocol to take account of this.  In this situation launch the protocol and you will see this message:

If you pick “UNABLE to Access Service" you will then see this message: 

The protocol will then direct you to the next steps, such as issuing more oral contraception or asking the patient to complete a pill check questionnaire, depending on the response you choose.