OTC naloxone follow up
February 22, 2016
THE recent move to make
naloxone available over the counter
(OTC) needs to be followed up by
appropriate regulatory changes,
argues a new report in the Medical
Journal of Australia.
The suggested changes would see
take-home programs (THN) able
to dispense naloxone directly to
their clients without the need for a
doctor or pharmacist.
“While OTC access removes the
need for a doctor’s prescription,
the requirement for dispensing by
a doctor or pharmacist remains,”
professor Simon Lenton, deputy
director of the National Drug
Research Institute in Perth, and his
coauthors, explained.
“Access to naloxone will be
maximised when those providing
instructions for use (including,
for example, allied health or
peer workers) also provide the
medication,” they continued.
They argue that without such
changes, down-scheduling to
Schedule 3 does little to simplify
dispensing arrangements for
current THN programs.
THN programs are designed to
help manage opioid overdose
events in the pre-hospital setting.
The extensive programs involve
training potential overdose
witnesses in overdose response
and then prescribing & distributing
naloxone to potential overdose
victims for later use.
“We hope that the rescheduling
of naloxone to make it available
OTC will lead to state and territory
health officials exploring ways
to similarly allow Australian
THN programs to dispense this
medication directly and cost effectively
to their clients,” they
concluded.
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