Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 14, 2025
Comprehensive Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Placenta-Targeted Drug Delivery Using Three Complementary Methods
Published on: September 10, 2018
Medication Abortion With Pharmacist Dispensing of Mifepristone
Daniel Grossman1, C Finley Baba, Shelly Kaller
1Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, Oakland; the Department of Pharmacy, University of California San Diego Health; the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington; Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, Washington; the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland; and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
Objective:
To estimate effectiveness and acceptability of medication abortion with mifepristone dispensed by pharmacists.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective cohort study at eight clinical sites and pharmacies in California and Washington State from July 2018 to March 2020. Pharmacists at participating pharmacies underwent a 1-hour training on medication abortion. We approached patients who had already been evaluated, counseled, and consented for medication abortion per standard of care. Patients interested in study participation gave consent, and the clinician electronically sent a prescription to the pharmacy for mifepristone 200 mg orally, followed 24-48 hours later by misoprostol 800 micrograms buccally. Participants were sent web-based surveys about their experience and outcomes on days 2 and 14 after enrollment and had routine follow-up with study sites. We extracted demographic and clinical data, including abortion outcome and adverse events, from medical records. We performed multivariable logistic regression to assess the association of pharmacy experience and other covariates with satisfaction.
Results:
We enrolled 266 participants and obtained clinical outcome information for 262 (98.5%), of whom two reported not taking either medication. Of the 260 participants with abortion outcome information, 252 (96.9%) and 237 (91.2%) completed day 2 and 14 surveys, respectively. Complete medication abortion (primary outcome) occurred for 243 participants (93.5%, 95% CI 89.7-96.1%). Four participants (1.5%, 95% CI 0.4-3.9%) had an adverse event, none of which was serious or related to pharmacist dispensing. In the day 2 survey, 91.3% (95% CI 87.1-94.4%) of participants reported satisfaction with the pharmacy experience. In the day 14 survey, 84.4% (95% CI 79.1-88.8%) reported satisfaction with the medication abortion experience. Those reporting being very satisfied with the pharmacy experience had higher odds of reporting overall satisfaction with medication abortion (adjusted odds ratio 2.96, 95% CI 1.38-6.32).
Conclusion:
Pharmacist dispensing of mifepristone for medication abortion is effective and acceptable to patients, with a low prevalence of adverse events.
Clinical Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03320057.
Related Concept Videos
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:21Drugs for Treatment of Constipation-Predominant IBS
01:25Drug Regulation
01:20Drugs for Peptic Ulcer Disease: Prostaglandin Analogs as Mucosal Protective Agents
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can induce peptic ulcers by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, decreasing...
01:27Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists
01:23Upper Respiratory Drugs: Antitussives, Expectorants, and Mucolytics
Antitussives include codeine, dextromethorphan (Robitussin), and benzonatate (Tessalon). Codeine and dextromethorphan exert their effects centrally by suppressing the cough reflex center in the medulla. Benzonatate operates peripherally within the respiratory tract by...