Date of Presentation
5-5-2022 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
From April 2020 to April 2021, it has been recorded that there have been 75,673 opioid overdose-related deaths in the United States. This number is up almost 20,000 more from the last period that deaths were recorded, coming in at 56,064 from April 2019 to April 2020. The use of naloxone, has been proven to save the lives of overdose patients on opioids by reversing its effects. It has already shown significant reduction in opioid overdose related mortality. Pharmacists are now able to prescribe naloxone with opioid prescriptions without a script from a doctor. EMS units are active in communities utilizing naloxone in overdose cases. More importantly, healthcare providers need to continue increasing the amount of naloxone that is co-prescribed to their patients on opioids. Not only should more healthcare providers have more access to naloxone, but they should be able to explain how to use it to their patients. Motivating more healthcare providers to use naloxone is one of our fundamentals of our best practices intervention.
In this pilot study, which is under a larger grant study that surveys physicians on attitudes and behaviors on co-prescribing naloxone, we decided to start by surveying medical students and assessing their knowledge of naloxone pre- and post-using our Continuing Medical Education (CME) called, Implementing Best Practices for Co-Prescribing Naloxone in Your Agency: A guide for healthcare professions”. Based on the preliminary data, all domains tested in the survey showed statistically significant improvement (p <0.001) after going through the program. Based on these results, it provides further reinforcement that our CME training could be implemented in other healthcare sectors to further increase naloxone co-prescription rates by healthcare providers.
Keywords
Naloxone, Prescriptions, Opioid-Related Disorders, Medical Education
Disciplines
Health Services Research | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences | Pharmaceutical Preparations | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Health Services Research Commons, Medical Education Commons, Pharmaceutical Preparations Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Implementing Best Practices for Co-Prescribing Naloxone in Your Agency: A Guide for Healthcare Professions
From April 2020 to April 2021, it has been recorded that there have been 75,673 opioid overdose-related deaths in the United States. This number is up almost 20,000 more from the last period that deaths were recorded, coming in at 56,064 from April 2019 to April 2020. The use of naloxone, has been proven to save the lives of overdose patients on opioids by reversing its effects. It has already shown significant reduction in opioid overdose related mortality. Pharmacists are now able to prescribe naloxone with opioid prescriptions without a script from a doctor. EMS units are active in communities utilizing naloxone in overdose cases. More importantly, healthcare providers need to continue increasing the amount of naloxone that is co-prescribed to their patients on opioids. Not only should more healthcare providers have more access to naloxone, but they should be able to explain how to use it to their patients. Motivating more healthcare providers to use naloxone is one of our fundamentals of our best practices intervention.
In this pilot study, which is under a larger grant study that surveys physicians on attitudes and behaviors on co-prescribing naloxone, we decided to start by surveying medical students and assessing their knowledge of naloxone pre- and post-using our Continuing Medical Education (CME) called, Implementing Best Practices for Co-Prescribing Naloxone in Your Agency: A guide for healthcare professions”. Based on the preliminary data, all domains tested in the survey showed statistically significant improvement (p <0.001) after going through the program. Based on these results, it provides further reinforcement that our CME training could be implemented in other healthcare sectors to further increase naloxone co-prescription rates by healthcare providers.