Assessment of naloxone availability in Georgia community pharmacies

To examine the availability of naloxone in community pharmacies and examine differences in naloxone availability across pharmacy location, pharmacy type, and areas of greater opioid overdose mortality.

A cross-sectional design was used to conduct a telephone survey of community pharmacists. A list of community pharmacies was obtained from the Georgia Board of Pharmacy; 25% were randomly selected, stratified across the National Center for Health Statistics rural-urban codes. The primary outcome was pharmacist-reported naloxone stock status. Predictor variables included urban and rural location, pharmacy type, and opioid related mortality rates. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were performed using StataCorp. 2017 Stata Statistical Software: Release 15.

Of the 600 pharmacies randomly selected, 166 pharmacies were not called because they were not open to the public or had known corporate policy prohibiting the release of stock information, or because of undisclosed reasons. Of the 434 called, 330 (76%) answered and agreed to participate and were included in the analysis. The majority were metropolitan (66%) and chain pharmacies with 4 or more locations (62%). Only 31% reported that naloxone was available for same-day purchase, 65% did not carry naloxone and 3% indicated that it was out of stock. Chain community pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, etc.), were more likely than independent pharmacies to have naloxone for same-day purchase (45% vs 24%; OR = 2.106, 95% CI 1.124-3.943), and areas with high opioid mortality rates were more likely to have naloxone than areas with low mortality rates (38% vs. 24%; odds ratio 1.866 [95% CI 1.059-3.290]).

Patients in Georgia face barriers accessing the potentially life-saving medication naloxone. Most community pharmacies (69%) did not have naloxone stocked. Naloxone was less likely to be available from independent pharmacies and in areas of lower than average opioid mortality rates. Additional strategies are needed to increase access to naloxone in an effort to combat the opioid epidemic.