PAC:TAP – The bridge between policy and practice

Meet the PAC:TAP Team 

Izza Malik – Program Director

Izza Malik, BA, is the Technical Assistance Program Director at NYBCAP.  Izza is currently pursuing her MPH in Health Policy and Management at NYU School of Global Public Health. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Stony Brook University, majoring in Sociology, and minoring in Political Science and Chemistry. 

Most recently, she has served as a Senior Fellow at NYBCAP, with focus on expanding reproductive healthcare access through peer education, policy reform, grassroots and digital advocacy. In the past, she has held several clinical positions, including as a pharmacy technician, served as a research assistant on neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology studies.

Paige Lederman – Program Associate

Paige is a second year graduate student at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University studying public health. Paige joined NYBCAP to advocate for equitable reproductive health care.

As a Program Associate for PAC:TAP, Paige is involved in data management and outreach initiatives.

The Pharmacy Access to Contraception: Technical Assistance Program (PAC:TAP) is a first of its kind statewide initiative. The New York Birth Control Access Project (NYBCAP) is dedicated to expanding access to pharmacist-prescribed contraception practices across New York state.

PAC:TAP brings to life the landmark Birth Control Access Act, passed in 2023, granting pharmacists the ability to dispense contraception in the form of the pill, patch, and the ring. PAC:TAP brings the policy into everyday practice—equipping pharmacists with the tools, training, and support needed to prescribe contraception safely and confidently.

Through technical assistance, peer support, and community collaboration, PAC:TAP is building a model for sustainable, pharmacist-driven reproductive health access in New York and beyond.

What We Do

PAC:TAP brings to life the landmark Birth Control Access Act, passed in 2023, granting pharmacists the ability to dispense contraception in the form of the pill, patch, and the ring. PAC:TAP brings the policy into everyday practice—equipping pharmacists with the tools, training, and support needed to prescribe contraception safely and confidently.

Through technical assistance, peer support, and community collaboration, PAC:TAP is building a model for sustainable, pharmacist-driven reproductive health access in New York and beyond.

PAC:TAP works directly with independent pharmacists to: 

  • Provide hands-on technical and logistical support for implementation.
  • Deliver statewide clinics and workshops to prepare pharmacists to prescribe.
  • Distribute a step-by-step toolkit and free patient awareness materials.
  • Build networks of regional partners to ensure local impact and lasting adoption.

Where We Work

PAC:TAP focuses on three diverse pilot regions—Western New York, the Capital Region, and New York City—chosen for serving a high medicaid beneficiary population, and holding the least amount of contraceptive providers per person offering the full array of contraceptive services. Insights from these sites will inform a scalable model for statewide expansion, and can then be adapted on a state by state basis..

How It Works

The program runs over 18 months, unfolding in four phases:

 

  • Phase One: Planning, partnership-building, toolkit development
  • Phase Two: Initial outreach, data collection format 
  • Phase Three: Full rollout, recruit and train on the ground support, sustain relationships with pharmacists
    Phase Four: Data analysis and creation of a final report on best practices
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Our Partners

PAC:TAP collaborates with pharmacists, schools of pharmacy, and professional associations such as PSSNY and CPESN, alongside community advocates, and public health partners. Together, we’re creating an infrastructure that ensures every New Yorker can access birth control close to home.

Why It Matters

In many parts of New York, timely access to contraception is still out of reach. PAC:TAP empowers pharmacists to help close that gap—especially in rural and Medicaid-heavy communities—by transforming neighborhood pharmacies into accessible, patient-centered care hubs.

By proving what’s possible through this pilot, PAC:TAP is laying the foundation for a statewide system where reproductive autonomy is accessible, equitable, and sustainable.

PAC:TAP is funded by the NY State Health Foundation