The Role of Pharmacists in the Opioid Epidemic

Reynolds, Victoria W.; Causey, H.; McKee, Jerry; Reinstein, Vera; Muzyk, Andrew J.

doi:10.18043/ncm.78.3.202

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Notably, the role of pharmacists and nurses in this area has increased. 3,4 Pharmacy and nursing organizations have advocated for increased education and training in SUDs to better prepare these clinicians and to expand their skills in collaborative patient care. [5][6][7][8][9] Educational organizations have similarly recognized the need for improving curricular content on SUDs to prepare future health care professionals, increase patients' access to effective health care, and reduce the stigma of SUDs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pilot Interprofessional Course on Substance Use Disorders to Improve Students’ Empathy and Counseling Skills

Muzyk

Mullan

Andolsek

et al. 2020

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective. To implement and assess the effectiveness of an interprofessional course designed to provide pharmacy and nursing students with opportunities to improve their understanding of substance use disorders (SUDs), assess their attitudes toward patients with SUDs, receive instruction and feedback on behavior change counseling, and engage in interprofessional education. Methods. The course consisted of four interactive class sessions that focused on empathy and recognition of personal bias, behavioral change counseling, and SUD recognition, screening, and treatment. Classes were taught by an interprofessional faculty member. Students also attended a 12-step recovery meeting in the community, counseled an authentic patient using behavioral change counseling, and received feedback based on a faculty member's direct observation of their counseling. Students completed validated assessments of their attitudes toward patients with SUDs and interprofessional collaboration. A faculty member used the Behavioral Change Counseling Index (BECCI) to assess students' counseling of SUD patients. Counseled patients were asked their preference for follow-up care for their SUD. Results. Twenty-seven pharmacy and nursing students completed this course, along with 51 students from other professions. The pharmacy and nursing students demonstrated significant improvements in their attitudes toward patients with SUDs and toward interprofessional collaboration, as measured by the Substance Abuse Attitudinal Scale (SAAS) and Student Perception of Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE-R2). Approximately 93% of pharmacy and nursing students counseled a patient with a SUD, with 96% of counseled patients reporting their intent to receive follow-up care.Conclusion. An interprofessional SUD course enriched pharmacy and nursing students' understanding, attitudes, and behaviors toward patients with SUDs and interprofessional collaboration. Students demonstrated an ability to provide behavior change counseling to patients, and 96% of counseled patients stated a willingness for follow-up care for their SUD.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pilot Interprofessional Course on Substance Use Disorders to Improve Students’ Empathy and Counseling Skills

Muzyk

Mullan

Andolsek

et al. 2020

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, they work with care teams to avoid and monitor drug interactions, prescribe and dispense naloxone to patients and caregivers as the Surgeon General has recently emphasized, 59 and refer and link patients to SUD treatment. 21,26,35,52,58,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] Academic and research pharmacists have developed, enhanced, and evaluated SUD curricula, interprofessional and continuing professional education courses and programs, and developed new medications for SUD treatment and opioid overdose reversal. They study the effectiveness of innovative policy implementation, besides focusing on expanding interdisciplinary SUD education for student and practicing pharmacists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Article Commentary: Pharmacy: Addressing Substance use in the 21st Century

Bratberg

2019

Substance Abuse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across all care environments, pharmacists play an essential role in the care of people who use and misuse psychoactive substances, including those diagnosed with substance use disorders. To optimize, sustain, and expand these independent and collaborative roles, the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) has developed core competencies for pharmacists to address substance use in the 21st century. Key concepts, skills, and attitudes are outlined, with links to entrustable professional activities to assist with integration into a variety of ideally interdisciplinary curricular activities.

show abstract

“…They identified themselves as “gatekeepers in prevention” when describing their role in the opioid epidemic. Previous studies have also described the pharmacist's role in being at the forefront of the opioid epidemic 24 , 38 . In the United States, 90% of individuals live within five miles of a community pharmacy, therefore engaging pharmacists for both their expertise and accessibility to patients would inevitably expand the population's access to and quality of preventative healthcare, 25 , 39 including those with opioid use disorder.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Gatekeepers in Prevention”: Community Pharmacist Perceptions of Their Role in the Opioid Epidemic

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Community pharmacists are at the frontline of patient care, yet their role in the opioid epidemic remains unclear. This qualitative study examines the perception of community pharmacists about their role in the opioid epidemic and challenges to fulfilling this role. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data from an Indiana census of community managing pharmacists was conducted. Qualitative data were coded using a priori and emergent themes. A priori categories included the perceived role of pharmacists in the opioid epidemic and perception of practice barriers. Results: A total of 215 Indiana community managing pharmacists participated in this study. Pharmacists understood themselves as gatekeepers in preventing opioid misuse and overdose. Reported pharmacy practices included providing patient education and communicating with prescribers. Challenges to fulfilling this role included pharmacy structure and operation, lack of patient and provider clarity about pharmacist scope of practice, and pharmacist perception that that there is no available discretionary time to support additional services. Conclusion: Pharmacists believe they have a vital role in combatting opioid misuse and overdose but are hampered by structural aspects of pharmacy practice and lack of recognition of their role. Pharmacy associations and policy partners are encouraged to identify opportunities to address these barriers.

show abstract

The Role of Pharmacists in the Opioid Epidemic

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 publications

A Pilot Interprofessional Course on Substance Use Disorders to Improve Students’ Empathy and Counseling Skills

A Pilot Interprofessional Course on Substance Use Disorders to Improve Students’ Empathy and Counseling Skills

Article Commentary: Pharmacy: Addressing Substance use in the 21st Century

“The Gatekeepers in Prevention”: Community Pharmacist Perceptions of Their Role in the Opioid Epidemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About