Pharmacy Daily | Harm prevention services save money, lives

COMMON harm reduction services such as take-home naloxone, opioid agonist treatment and needle-syringe programs not only reduce negative consequences of drug use, but have economic benefits, according to research led by Burnet Institute and published in the journal Addiction.

An analysis of harm reduction services in the ACT suggested more than $250 million in health and societal benefits could be delivered between 2026 and 2030, while averting dozens of overdose deaths.

The modelling also revealed that for the current package of harm reduction services, every dollar invested returns more than $10 in benefits.

When services are scaled up, harm prevention and savings increase, with opioid agonist treatments - such as methadone or buprenorphine used to treat opioid dependence - delivering one of the strongest returns if programs were expanded.

The modelling also examined a scenario in which more potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and nitazenes, enter the ACT drug market, a trend already seen in other parts of Australia (PD 08 May 2025).

Under these higher-risk conditions, the cost-effectiveness of harm reduction interventions increased significantly.

The team also looked at drug consumption rooms, along the lines of the medically supervised injecting centres in Sydney and Melbourne, or nurse- or peer-led equivalents.

Drug consumption rooms were associated with fewer overdose deaths, fewer ambulance callouts and reduced hospitalisation costs from injection-related infections.

"For every dollar invested, a drug consumption room could return up to nearly $3 in benefits through avoided overdose deaths, reduced ambulance callouts and shorter hospital stays," said Professor Paul Dietze, Burnet Program Director of Disease Elimination.

"They are a proven, cost-effective tool that reduce preventable deaths and help people engage with existing health services, while easing pressure on emergency services."

Read the paper HERE. KB