We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.
A Review of Opioid Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Prescribing: Implications for Translating Community Programming Into Clinical Practice
Shane R. Mueller , Alexander Y. Walley , Susan L. Calcaterra , Jason M. Glanz , Ingrid A. Binswanger
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 2, 2015
Drug overdose mortality from opioids has emerged as an epidemic in the United States. Medical providers are responsible for prescribing opioids and educating patients in many health care settings. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist which is FDA approved to reverse respiratory depression caused by opioid overdose. There is emerging evidence that community overdose education and take-home naloxone rescue kits is a promising intervention for reducing fatalities from overdose. Our review explores the role of medical providers in prescribing naloxone for take-home use and suggests that this is a promising intervention which may be used to address the opioid overdose epidemic.