Headline
Pharmacy co-dispensing of naloxone with opioid prescriptions improved naloxone receipt and overdose prevention knowledge without encouraging risk behaviors.
Context
Pharmacists have a role to play in providing low-threshold access to naloxone, a safe and effective intervention to reverse opioid overdose that is underutilized. This study analyzes whether a pharmacy offering to dispense naloxone when filling opioid prescriptions affects risk behaviors and overdose prevention knowledge among patients, as well as the amount of naloxone dispensed.
Findings
This study randomized seven Colorado-based pharmacies to either an intervention group, where pharmacies co-dispensed naloxone with prescribed opioids for 10 months, or a usual care control group. Intervention patients were three times more likely to receive naloxone than patients in the control group and neither group experienced an increase in risk behaviors. Intervention patients also exhibited greater knowledge of overdose prevention methods at 8-month follow up compared to patients receiving usual care.
Takeaways
Pharmacies that co-dispense naloxone for patients prescribed opioids can improve education on opioid overdose prevention, as well as increase naloxone accessibility, with no significant increase in risk behaviors.