Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · May 2018
Naloxone rescheduling in Australia: Processes, implementation and challenges with supply of naloxone as a 'pharmacist only' over-the-counter medicine.
Numerous studies and systematic reviews have concluded that naloxone for take-home use is an effective intervention to reduce overdose morbidity and mortality, with few side effects and no abuse potential. One barrier to supply is that naloxone has traditionally been a prescription medication. In May 2015, the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia announced the intention to down-schedule naloxone when used for the treatment of opioid overdose, enabling sale in pharmacies without a prescription. The aim of this article is to describe process of rescheduling of naloxone and some of the challenges observed. ⋯ Naloxone down-scheduling has opened up an additional way to supply naloxone through community pharmacy. Further expansion of naloxone availability may be achieved through addressing cost as a barrier, and making naloxone more widely accessible through needle syringe programs, and other services that do not have medical staff.