Call for Pharmacy Involvement
National experts have called for pharmacists to play a more active role in addressing the opioid crisis in this country.28-30 Such efforts include educational initiatives, encourage naloxone co-prescribing, and delivery of medications for individuals with an opioid use disorder, especially injectable naltrexone. Pharmacy involvement in the opioid crisis is especially important in rural communities where they represent one of the most accessible health care providers.31,32
Injectable Naltrexone Effectiveness
Managing opioid use disorder with naltrexone has been shown to be more effective than treatment as usual and results in improved outcomes.33-35
- Patients using oral naltrexone experienced reduced time in inpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment.36
- Patients who receive injectable naltrexone showed reductions in opioid use.37
- Individuals who received six naltrexone injections experienced improvements in employment, mental health and psychosocial functioning, and reduced opioid craving and drug use.38
Benefits of Community Pharmacy-Provided Injectable Naltrexone
- Greater patient access, which is considered the most important benefit and is associated with:
- Prescriber reluctance to provide this treatment in their offices due to time constraints
- Reduced stigma being treated in a pharmacy rather than a clinic
- Ability of pharmacists to accommodate walk-in appointments
- Flexible appointment scheduling for patient convenience (e.g., hours of operation)
- Ability of pharmacists to address urgent patient needs
- Fewer out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., avoidance of clinic visit fees)
- Facilitated access, at most pharmacies, to behavioral health wrap-around through telehealth
- Pharmacists’ unique perspective on what to expect pharmacologically, the ability to proactively call patients and follow-up, to touch base when filling prescriptions, and to conduct medication management reviews at the time of consultation prior to medication administration
- Pharmacists as a resource for practitioners, for court system, drug court, the Department of Health Services in other counties/municipalities, and be an access point for coordination with substance abuse counselors
- Patients may feel more comfortable to discuss addiction and treatment challenges with a pharmacist
Hear from Pharmacists who Provide Injectable Naltrexone in their Communities
Below you can listen to interviews with two community pharmacists who provide injectable naltrexone. They share their thoughts on why they offer injectable naltrexone, what they feel are the benefits of providing this service in their communities, how they established their services, and they offer advice for other pharmacists wanting to initiate an injectable naltrexone service.
