Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Nov 2012
Evaluation of online training for the provision of opioid substitution treatment by community pharmacists in New Zealand.
The role of community pharmacists in the provision of opioid substitution treatment (OST) is pivotal and integral to addiction treatment. An online training program for pharmacists in OST management was piloted in New Zealand in 2010, following recognition of the difficulty in recruitment and retention of community pharmacists to provide OST services. Our aim was to evaluate the OST online training that was made available for any community pharmacist in New Zealand and to establish the feasibility and acceptability of this format of training for community pharmacists. The evaluation explored participants' attitudes, skills and knowledge both pre- and post-training in OST. ⋯ Online training is an appropriate and economical method of improving pharmacists' clinical skills with respect to this client group, and has the potential to reach a wider audience of pharmacists. Further research is required to investigate OST client experiences in community pharmacy.