The article, “Research Priorities for Expansion of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in the Community Pharmacy,” has been published in SAj.
In this commentary, the authors state that in the last decade, the U.S. opioid overdose crisis has magnified, particularly since the introduction of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl. Despite the benefits of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), only about a fifth of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the U.S. receive MOUD. The ubiquity of pharmacists, along with their extensive education and training, represents great potential for expansion of MOUD services, particularly in community pharmacies. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN) convened a working group to develop a research agenda to expand OUD treatment in the community pharmacy sector to support improved access to MOUD and patient outcomes
In the AUTHORS’ OWN WORDS, they relate the importance of their work:
“This paper provides an innovative roadmap of necessary research to support increased access of MOUD in a community pharmacy setting. The collaboration of experts within the field to collectively define these areas of interest is important. However, other voices will be needed through this research to best highlight successful approaches to OUD care in alternative locations from opioid treatment programs.”
“Pharmacists are integral health professionals that stand to be useful providers within the continuum of OUD treatment, particularly in the community pharmacy arena, to increase access to services. More research is needed to best understand mechanisms for inclusion of services, payment and operational models, and professional education and development for evidence-based practice.”