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In speaking to a few practicing pharmacists, I became aware that some practitioners did not know these educational programs and laws had been created. These types of programs, where they exist, differ due to the varying prominence of opiate overdose and the fact that these bills are only passed at the state level. This makes HB-1458 and the REVIVE! program only relevant through the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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To get more insight into the topic, I held a brief interview with Caroline Juran, Executive Director of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. She has been providing assistance to the legislators during the General Assembly session and the Board of Pharmacy as it adopted a protocol for pharmacists to dispense naloxone pursuant to a standing order. Her work centered on trying to increase awareness of the new law when speaking at pharmacy professional association meetings. Fortunately, she had not seen much resistance to the newly passed laws, but she still believes,” that there is a need for increased education and awareness of the law, including the civil liability protections, and how to implement a standing order for dispensing naloxone.” It is imperative that we raise awareness of educational programs and laws formed around opioid overdoses.
At this point, the pharmacists that are dispensing Naloxone pursuant to a standing order are not mandated to report to the board, so no statistics related to the prevention overdose-related fatalities can be identified yet. In a memorandum by President Obama in October 2015, he stated improving access to treatment was specifically noted as one of the largest actions in the Nation Drug Control strategy. The press release unveiled plans for naloxone use and training programs for pharmacies like CVS Health and Rite Aid. Also noted were increased efforts by the American Pharmacists Association, the National Community Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health System-Pharmacists and The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
"Pharmacists can play an integral role in protecting patients from opioid overdose," stated Caroline Juran. What does this entail? It includes identifying high-risk patients, encouraging responsible naloxone use by both patients and care givers, and providing training on the proper administration of the drug.
This is what our role is shifting towards due to this epidemic: comment below on your thoughts. Is this intervention truly our responsibility? Does this level of intervention and assistance require more training than basic CE's can provide? How can pharmacy technicians help us reach these patients?