Pharmacist Opioid Dispensing Confidence in an Evolving Practice Landscape

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Pain Management
• Public Health

Background:

• Pharmacists face complex decisions when dispensing opioid prescriptions.
• Risk mitigation strategies have increased the complexity of these decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in pharmacist comfort levels with dispensing opioid prescriptions over the preceding year.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, multi-state survey was distributed to pharmacists.
• 195 community/retail pharmacists completed the 16-item questionnaire in November 2018.

Main Results:

• 42.5% of pharmacists reported a decrease in comfort dispensing opioids.
• 19.6% reported increased comfort, and 38.0% reported no change.
• Key information for increased comfort includes diagnosis, MME, prior treatments, and PDMP verification.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacist comfort with opioid dispensing has declined.
• Enhanced prescriber-pharmacist communication and patient health information access are crucial for patient care.