Naloxone Services Provided by Pharmacists Extend Beyond Community Pharmacy Setting

Pharmacist involvement in providing naloxone-related services extends beyond community pharmacy settings, according to findings from a systematic review published in Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.

“Naloxone services were provided in a wide range of health care settings and involved pharmacists with various expertise,” wrote corresponding author Smita Rawal, a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, and coauthors.

Although pharmacist engagement in community pharmacy-based naloxone services is well recognized, the systematic review focused on evidence of pharmacist involvement in naloxone services in other settings.

Researchers identified a total 76 studies conducted in the United States for the review. Most studies were observational in nature, and 2 were randomized controlled trials. The majority of studies were small in scale, involving fewer than 100 participants.

Veterans Affairs or academic medical centers made up half of the study settings, according to researchers. Services provided by pharmacists included clinical staff education, screening to identify at-risk patients, naloxone prescribing, and overdose education and naloxone dispensing. Outcomes stemming from those services included enhanced knowledge about naloxone, positive attitudes, increased overdose education and naloxone dispensing, and overdose reversals.

Pharmacist-reported barriers that hindered implementation of naloxone services included inadequate training, time constraints, reimbursement issues, and stigma, reported researchers.

“Future programs should use targeted approaches to help pharmacists overcome barriers and enhance naloxone services,” advised authors. “Additional research is needed to evaluate pharmacist naloxone services by using rigorous methodologies (eg, larger sample sizes, randomized controlled trial designs).”

Reference:
Rawal S, Osae SP, Cobran EK, Albert A, Young HN. Pharmacists’ naloxone services beyond community pharmacy settings: a systematic review. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2022;S1551-7411(22)00301-1. doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.09.002