BURNET Institute researchers, in partnership with Western Health, have developed recommendations for the use of opioid agonist treatment in custodial settings, with pharmacists playing a key role in providing continuity of care between prison and after release.
More than half the 40,000 people incarcerated in Australia experience drug addition, including to heroin and other opioids, and when released have an increased risk of death from drug overdose.
Opioid agonist treatment is used to treat heroin addiction, and reduces drug use and drug-related harms, including the likelihood of contracting infectious diseases, and the risk of overdose.
The National consensus statement on opioid agonist treatment in custodial settings makes 19 recommendations to government, relevant health authorities and custodial health services about how and when opioid agonist treatment should be offered in prison settings and how people can remain on the treatment after they are released from prison.
Key recommendations from the study include prompt recognition and treatment of opioid withdrawal and connection to community-based treatment providers on release.
Lead author Dr Jocelyn Chan said the treatment allowed people to gradually reduce their dependence on opioid drugs.
"Opioid agonist treatment helps sustain the body's tolerance to the drugs so that if people use drugs again once they're released from prison, they are less likely to overdose, which is a leading cause of death among people released from prison," she said.
"When proper support networks have been established once the person has been released from prison, they will gradually be able to come off the treatment."
Dr Chan said the guidelines would improve treatment for people who inject drugs who were incarcerated.
Co-author and pharmacist, Professor Suzanne Nielsen, a member of the expert group that informed the recommendations, said it was important that a pharmacist was involved in the development of the consensus statement.
"We know pharmacists are critical in providing access to pharmacotherapy, and in supporting continuity of care between jurisdictional and community settings," Professor Nielsen told Pharmacy Daily.
"Recommendations in the consensus statement support this critical role and highlight the importance of working with pharmacies to ensure scripts enable continuity of care and work with availability of supervised dosing.
"The inclusion of pharmacist expertise within the expert group recognises the importance of the role of pharmacy in providing access to these evidence-based treatments for opioid dependence."
The statement was published in the MJA - the full paper is HERE. KB
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