Pharmacists' attitudes toward dispensing naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder: A scoping review of the literature.
Abstract
Background: Pharmacists are on the frontline caring for patients at risk of an opioid
overdose and for patients with an opioid use disorder (OUD). Dispensing naloxone and
medications for OUD and counseling patients about these medications are ways pharmacists
can provide care. Key to pharmacists' involvement is their willingness to take on
these practice responsibilities. Methods: The purpose of this scoping review is to
identify, evaluate, and summarize published literature describing pharmacists' attitudes
toward naloxone and medications for OUD, i.e., methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
All searches were performed on December 7, 2018, in 5 databases: Embase.com, PubMed.gov,
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) via EBSCOhost, Cochrane
Central Register of Controlled Trials via Wiley, and Clarivate Web of Science. Articles
included original research conducted in the United States, described attitude-related
language toward naloxone and medications for OUD, and pharmacists. Results: A total
of 1323 articles were retrieved, 7 were included. Five studies reported on pharmacists'
attitudes toward naloxone dispensing, 1 study reported on attitudes toward naloxone,
buprenorphine, and buprenorphine/naloxone, and 1 reported on attitudes toward buprenorphine/naloxone.
Respondents were diverse, including pharmacists from different practice specialties.
Studies found that pharmacists agreed with a naloxone standing order, believed that
naloxone should be dispensed to individuals at risk of an opioid overdose, and were
supportive of dispensing buprenorphine. A minority of pharmacists expressed negative
attitudes. Barriers cited to implementation included education and training, workflow,
and management support. Conclusions: Pharmacists were positive in their attitudes
toward increased practice responsibilities for patients at risk of an opioid overdose
or with an OUD. Pharmacists must receive education and training to be current in their
understanding of OUD medications, and they must be supported in order to provide effective
care to this patient population.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19269Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1080/08897077.2019.1616349Publication Info
Muzyk, Andrew; Smothers, Zachary PW; Collins, Kathryn; MacEachern, Mark; & Wu, Li-Tzy (2019). Pharmacists' attitudes toward dispensing naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder:
A scoping review of the literature. Substance abuse. pp. 1-8. 10.1080/08897077.2019.1616349. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19269.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Andrew Muzyk
Associate Professor of the Practice of Medical Education
Dr. Andrew Muzyk is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Medical Education at
Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC and an Associate Professor in the
Department of Pharmacy Practice at Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences in Buies Creek, NC. Dr. Muzyk also holds a Clinical Associate appointment
in the Duke University School of Nursing. Dr. Muzyk's responsibilities include teaching
students across numerous health professions programs, rounding as a c
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder
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