The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update
Lucas Kosobuski,1 Carolyn O’Donnell,1 Cynthia P Koh-Knox Sharp,2 Nathaniel Chen,1 Laura Palombi1 1Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Minnesota - College of Pharmacy, Duluth, MN, USA; 2Purdue University College of Pharmacy, West Lafayette, IN, USACorrespondence: Laura Palomb...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-the-pharmacist-in-combating-the-opioid-crisis-an-update-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-SAR |
| _version_ | 1797974868312981504 |
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| author | Kosobuski L O'Donnell C Koh-Knox Sharp CP Chen N Palombi L |
| author_facet | Kosobuski L O'Donnell C Koh-Knox Sharp CP Chen N Palombi L |
| author_sort | Kosobuski L |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lucas Kosobuski,1 Carolyn O’Donnell,1 Cynthia P Koh-Knox Sharp,2 Nathaniel Chen,1 Laura Palombi1 1Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Minnesota - College of Pharmacy, Duluth, MN, USA; 2Purdue University College of Pharmacy, West Lafayette, IN, USACorrespondence: Laura Palombi, Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Minnesota – College of Pharmacy, 1110 Kirby Drive, 232 Life Science, Duluth, MN, 55812, USA, Tel +1 218-726-6000, Fax +1 218-726-6500, Email lpalombi@d.umn.eduIntroduction: The opioid overdose crisis has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States in the last decade, with overdose numbers continuing to climb. At the same time, the role of the pharmacist in combating the opioid crisis continues to evolve.Methods: A literature search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE that incorporated both MeSH terms and keywords to describe two concepts: the opioid epidemic and pharmacists/pharmacies. The search was limited to articles published after 2010 through the end of 2021 and returned 196 articles that were analyzed thematically.Results: Thematic analysis revealed the following themes: prevention, interventions, public health role of the pharmacist, pharmacists in multiple roles, barriers, pharmacist and healthcare provider attitudes, educational initiatives for pharmacists and student pharmacists, and future research.Discussion: While a great deal of progress has been made in the role of the pharmacist in supporting individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the last two decades, pharmacists must seek to invest time and resources into practices with a strong evidence base to better mitigate the growing, devastating impact of the opioid crisis. Pharmacists must be willing to embrace new and non-traditional roles in patient care, service and research, and seek to advance evidence-based knowledge and practice.Conclusion: Pharmacy practice has expanded greatly in the past decade with pharmacists taking on new and creative approaches to addressing the opioid crisis. Collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing the root causes of opioid misuse and opioid overdose are still desperately needed. These include attention to the critical roles of social determinants of health, stigma elimination, legislative advocacy for patients with OUD, and focused education for providers, pharmacists, and the community. Recognition and support of the value of collaboration to both improve public health and individual patient care, continued investments in pharmacy practice advancement in OUD treatment and harm reduction, and the creation of workflows and prescribing algorithms to assist in dosing medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms and achieve improved pain control are desperately needed.Keywords: pharmacist, pharmacy, opioid, overdose, pharmacy practice |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:26:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de084f12581e4d23be550001ab90acbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-8467 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:26:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation |
| spelling | doaj.art-de084f12581e4d23be550001ab90acbb2022-12-29T17:48:03ZengDove Medical PressSubstance Abuse and Rehabilitation1179-84672022-12-01Volume 1312713880656The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An UpdateKosobuski LO'Donnell CKoh-Knox Sharp CPChen NPalombi LLucas Kosobuski,1 Carolyn O’Donnell,1 Cynthia P Koh-Knox Sharp,2 Nathaniel Chen,1 Laura Palombi1 1Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Minnesota - College of Pharmacy, Duluth, MN, USA; 2Purdue University College of Pharmacy, West Lafayette, IN, USACorrespondence: Laura Palombi, Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Minnesota – College of Pharmacy, 1110 Kirby Drive, 232 Life Science, Duluth, MN, 55812, USA, Tel +1 218-726-6000, Fax +1 218-726-6500, Email lpalombi@d.umn.eduIntroduction: The opioid overdose crisis has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States in the last decade, with overdose numbers continuing to climb. At the same time, the role of the pharmacist in combating the opioid crisis continues to evolve.Methods: A literature search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE that incorporated both MeSH terms and keywords to describe two concepts: the opioid epidemic and pharmacists/pharmacies. The search was limited to articles published after 2010 through the end of 2021 and returned 196 articles that were analyzed thematically.Results: Thematic analysis revealed the following themes: prevention, interventions, public health role of the pharmacist, pharmacists in multiple roles, barriers, pharmacist and healthcare provider attitudes, educational initiatives for pharmacists and student pharmacists, and future research.Discussion: While a great deal of progress has been made in the role of the pharmacist in supporting individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the last two decades, pharmacists must seek to invest time and resources into practices with a strong evidence base to better mitigate the growing, devastating impact of the opioid crisis. Pharmacists must be willing to embrace new and non-traditional roles in patient care, service and research, and seek to advance evidence-based knowledge and practice.Conclusion: Pharmacy practice has expanded greatly in the past decade with pharmacists taking on new and creative approaches to addressing the opioid crisis. Collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing the root causes of opioid misuse and opioid overdose are still desperately needed. These include attention to the critical roles of social determinants of health, stigma elimination, legislative advocacy for patients with OUD, and focused education for providers, pharmacists, and the community. Recognition and support of the value of collaboration to both improve public health and individual patient care, continued investments in pharmacy practice advancement in OUD treatment and harm reduction, and the creation of workflows and prescribing algorithms to assist in dosing medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms and achieve improved pain control are desperately needed.Keywords: pharmacist, pharmacy, opioid, overdose, pharmacy practicehttps://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-the-pharmacist-in-combating-the-opioid-crisis-an-update-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-SARpharmacistpharmacyopioidoverdosepharmacy practice |
| spellingShingle | Kosobuski L O'Donnell C Koh-Knox Sharp CP Chen N Palombi L The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation pharmacist pharmacy opioid overdose pharmacy practice |
| title | The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update |
| title_full | The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update |
| title_fullStr | The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update |
| title_short | The Role of the Pharmacist in Combating the Opioid Crisis: An Update |
| title_sort | role of the pharmacist in combating the opioid crisis an update |
| topic | pharmacist pharmacy opioid overdose pharmacy practice |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-the-pharmacist-in-combating-the-opioid-crisis-an-update-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-SAR |
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