Study: Naloxone dispensing in Ohio increased more than 2,000% since 2015

I wanted to share to our pain doctors who prescribe narcotics to their patients.

Source: WCPO

Naloxone was dispensed more than 2,000% in Ohio since it was made available without a prescription in 2015, research shows.

A new study by the University of Cincinnati showed obtaining naloxone without a prescription made a huge impact in the state, WCPO reported.

The drug, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by helping the person breathe again, was made available to purchase from a pharmacy without a prescription in July 2015. Before the law passed, residents would have to go through a order process to get naloxone, which some said created barriers.

“In the past a person would have had to go to a physician’s office, see the physician, get a prescription, go to the pharmacy to get the medication, so those are a lot of steps,” said Pam Heaton, a professor of pharmacy practice at UC’s Winkle College.

The research documented that as of May 2019, around 75% of community pharmacies in the state were registered to dispense the drug without a prescription.

Ohio had the second-highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.