Pharmacy Daily | National ODT stats show need to act

AUSTRALIA needs to implement a national coordinated approach to the management and treatment of opioid misuse, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Trent Twomey, believes.

Following the publication of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW's) National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data Collection snapshot for 2020, which showed a 4.7% increase in client numbers since 2019, Twomey said there was a need to support access to affordable opioid dependence treatment (ODT).

"Consistent with the National Drug Strategy 2017-2026, the Guild, through the community pharmacy network, is committed to reducing drug-related harm to individuals and communities, which includes ODT programs in community pharmacy," he said.

"The AIHW report highlights the importance of acting on the Guild's Budget submission which has highlighted access to, and affordability of, opioid dependence treatment.

"Significantly, the report shows the number of patients receiving treatment dosing points has risen by nearly 5% and this should be a concern for everyone and must be acted on as a health priority.

"The report also found 89% of dosing points were in pharmacies and this further underscores the important role community pharmacies play in helping ODT patients.

"The Guild is committed to working with governments, stakeholders and patients to help address this growing problem and I believe acting on our Budget submission is a good start.

"In addition, the commitment by governments at all levels to real-time prescription monitoring means they have the quantitative data that they cannot ignore."

The AIHW noted that NSW had the highest rate of people receiving ODT in the country, with 28 patients per 10,000 people, up from 26 per 10,000 in 2019.

The Northern Territory remained the jurisdiction with the lowest rate of people receiving treatment (six clients per 10,000 people).

The median age for ODT clients was 44 years, with 36% of patients aged 40 to 49 years, while methadone was the most frequently used treatment for 58% of people receiving ODT.