Medicines Authority recommends OTC sale of EC in Malta
On October 17th, 2016, the head of the Malta Medicines Authority, Serracino Inglott, announced that the sale of EC pills will be allowed without a prescription. According to an article from Times of Malta:
“The authority has always based its decisions on three things; quality, safety of patients and efficacy. By asking patients to go to doctors to get their hands on the contraceptive, you are compromising efficacy,” [Inglott] said. The authority head also insisted that the parliamentary committee failed to take into consideration that Malta’s pharmacists not only have the necessary skills to be able to give the MAP [morning after pill] but they also rank among Europe’s best pharmacists in patient-centered care.
This decision comes shortly after a Parliament Committee recommended to permit the sale of EC pills only with a prescription and to allow doctors to refuse prescribing EC on the basis of conscious objection.