The Authors’ Own Words:
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.
Derek Yates PharmD; Theresa Frey PharmD; & Jean Charles Montgomery MD
Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 2, 2018
“The authors believe that these results have demonstrated that patients at high risk for opioid-related adverse events are generally amenable to receiving rescue naloxone devices. In the past, one barrier to distribution of naloxone has been the need for a clinic visit to provide education on the use of a naloxone kit due to their complexity. In contrast, this project utilized telephone-based outreach to offer rescue naloxone to patients; this was made possible by the simplicity of recently FDA-approved naloxone delivery devices such as the nasal spray and the autoinjector. With their simple design the newer naloxone delivery devices allow distribution of naloxone with education on its use provided over the phone and reinforced with educational materials mailed to the patients’ homes. Addressing the opioid epidemic is a priority across the nation and services that increase naloxone distribution are essential to primary care clinics. A telephone-based service such as the one described in this paper will enable providers to reach more patients in this less resource-intensive manner and can provide access for patients with barriers to in-person visits.”
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