SIUE Pharmacists Assisting in Reducing Negative Outcomes of Opioid Overdose
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy faculty members Drs. Kelly Gable, Chris Herndon and Jessica Kerr have worked with the Illinois Pharmacists Association to develop and administer online training for pharmacists to help prevent opioid overdose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of opioid overdoses in the state of Illinois is increasing. Prescription pain relievers and heroin are the primary cause for these increasing rates.
In 2014, the state of Illinois had an overall 8.3 percent increase rate of opioid overdose compared to 2013 when reviewing data from the National Vital Statistics System. Within local communities, alarming reports of patients who have died from an opioid overdose are becoming more common.
It is known that the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed in a given year continues to increase without necessarily an increase in pain control. Chris Herndon, PharmD, associate professor in the SIUE Department of Pharmacy Practice, sees this first hand in his practice.
“Often times, chronic pain is multifactorial,” Herndon said. “Rehabilitation involves much more than medications. Unfortunately, financial barriers to a comprehensive treatment approach are often out of reach for many patients. This leads to over-reliance on medications as the only modality being used, and predictably, inadequate pain relief is the result.
“Patients suffering with severe pain may take prescribed medications inappropriately, take medications prescribed to someone else, or most concerning, take illicit street drugs in which little is known about what is actually being consumed.”
It is their hope that by further educating the community and health care professionals, everyone can join forces to stop this public health concern.
This issue prompted the development of Public Act 099-0480, which was enacted in September 2015. The Act is comprehensive and has a heavy focus regarding opioid overdose and preventative measures to help decrease the death rate in the State of Illinois as well as creating pathways to assistance with treatments and preventative education in communities. A large focus of this public act allows anyone at risk of an opioid overdose, such as law enforcement officers, firemen, school nurses and other trained individuals employed by public/non-public schools to administer opioid reversal agent naloxone to any person who is having an opioid overdose.
However, once all components of the training program have been completed, participating pharmacies and pharmacists can assist this population with obtaining rescue naloxone therapy and provide the required safety information regarding signs and symptoms of opioid overdose, how to provide rescue breathing, possible adverse effects of naloxone therapy, and emergent call for help by contacting emergency medical services to engage acute treatment.
All of this assistance can be done by pharmacists without an individual prescription provided to the patient. Patients or caregivers will be able to go to a pharmacy and request these services assuming the pharmacy has completed the appropriate state paperwork.
The Illinois Departments of Public Health, Human Services, and Financial and Professional Regulation collaborated on this venture to ensure that pharmacists are aware of the ruling and receive the recommended training to become a community resource for this epidemic.
“Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare provider in most Illinois communities, and the use of opioid reversal agents, such as naloxone, has saved numerous lives,” said Garth Reynolds, Illinois Pharmacists Association executive director.
For more information contact Jessica Kerr, PharmD, associate professor and assistant chair of the SIUE Department of Pharmacy Practice at jekerr@siue.edu.
Photo: (top) Jessica Kerr, PharmD, associate professor and assistant chair of the SIUE Department of Pharmacy Practice; (middle) Chris Herndon, associate professor in the SIUE Department of Pharmacy Practice; Kelly Gable associate professor in the SIUE Department of Pharmacy Practice.
