Opioid Misuse and Overdose: Changes in Pharmacist Practices and Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Public Health
• Pharmacovigilance

Background:

• Continuing education (CE) is crucial for health professionals but often lacks evaluation of sustained practice change.
• The opioid epidemic necessitates enhanced pharmacist engagement and education.
• The Opioid and Naloxone Education (ONE Rx) CE program aims to equip pharmacists to address the opioid crisis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and sustained practice change resulting from the ONE Rx CE program for pharmacists.
• To assess pharmacist reaction, commitment, behavior, and results following opioid and naloxone education.

Main Methods:

• The ONE Rx CE program covered opioid misuse risk assessment, naloxone use, addiction, and patient communication.
• Pharmacists completed pre-, post-, and delayed surveys to evaluate the program's impact.
• The Kirkpatrick Model was employed to assess four levels of evaluation: reaction, commitment, behavior, and results.

Main Results:

• 97% of participants recommended the ONE Rx program, and 77% committed to providing opioid risk screening.
• Pharmacist registration to prescribe naloxone increased by 67% within 12 months.
• Reported naloxone dispensing by pharmacists doubled from 23% to 46%.

Conclusions:

• The ONE Rx CE program effectively delivered high-quality opioid and naloxone education to pharmacists.
• The program demonstrated sustained changes in pharmacy practice behavior, contributing to opioid harm reduction.
• Pharmacist interventions included medication take-back programs, naloxone dispensing, and discussions on opioid use disorder.