Increasing Naloxone Availability

Administration of naloxone is credited with the reversal of at least 10,000 opioid overdoses in the United States between 1996-2010 alone.[i] Moreover, intranasal naloxone has proven an equally effective route of drug administration when compared to IV dosing in emergent prehospital settings[ii], and retrospective studies have shown no significant difference in efficacy between doses delivered by healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals.[iii] Despite these facts, and broad protections provided to physicians prescribing naloxone and citizens administering naloxone outlined in Vermont Act 75, few if any Vermont physicians have incorporated prescribing naloxone into their practice. This project intended to find the barriers to prescribing and begin prophylactic distribution of naloxone to Stowe Family Practice patients. [i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Community-based opioid overdose prevention programs providing naloxone - United States, 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012 Feb 17;61(6):101-5. [ii] Barton ED, Colwell CB, et al. Efficacy of intranasal naloxone as a needleless alternative for treatment of opioid overdose in the prehospital setting. J Emerg Med. 2005 Oct;29(3):265-71. [iii] Doe-Simkins M, Quinn E, et al. Overdose rescues by trained and untrained participants and change in opioid use among substance-using participants in overdose education and naloxone distribution programs: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Public Health. 2014 Apr 1;14:297. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-297.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1078/thumbnail.jp