Naloxone Dispensing...in 15 minutes or less

[BJNCNC]

With recent changes in legislation and the big chains now offering naloxone to patients and family/caregivers new challenges will soon arise. I'm curious how other pharmacists feel about this topic.

1. If someone came into your pharmacy at 5pm at a 500+ script/day store and says their friend is over dosing and they need naloxone now, are we obligated to fill it in 15 minutes or less?

2. Who gets priority, family of flu shot patients or naloxone?

3. Has anyone experienced either situation yet?

Parts 1 and 2 were meant to be lighthearted, yet realistic.


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[Digsbe]

Personally I'd fill the nalaxone first if the patient is OD. But I'd still recommend to them to take them to the ER now as they should anyway after using naloxone or to call an ambulance.

 

[Unchained]

I wouldn't even bother with the flu shots. Most years they are minimally effective if at all. By the time the virus reaches our shores it has mutated and doesn't resemble the strains which were in the Asian countries where it was sampled months prior. The CDC is just another corrupt gov't organization which rubber stamps all vaccines that they "evaluate". They are greatly influenced by corporate American which influences all other branches of our gov't. I am surprised they pulled nasal Flumist. I wonder how long they knew about its lack of efficacy. How did it even make it to market?

So in short dispense the naloxone first. You may actually save a life with it.

 

[RxRetailRx]

In an emergency situation, we could fill that rx in less than 15 mins (of cause w/o insurance issues) think you may save a life

 

[RPh Who]

Sorry, but you've got to be kidding. What is the first sign of an overdose/at what point would an opioid users friend or family begin to suspect an OD? In my mind the first alarm is that an individual is difficult to rouse or unresponsive. Is the concerned friend/family member going to lift the 160lbs of dead weight (pun partially intended) into their car, drive down to the pharmacy, and cross their fingers hoping their loved one doesn't aspirate vomit during 20 minute dragging/driving episode as well as the ensuing 15 minute wait in the pharmacy? Are you seriously going to be negligent enough to tell someone to wait 15 minutes then go to the hospital for the next dose of naloxone? The whole point of BTC/OTC naloxone was to be a precautionary measure to have on hand in emergencies, not a reactive place to receive treatment for an acute OD.

 

[Gombrich12]

RPh Who it's very possible that they overdose on your store's property or a nearby property. That's why a lot of stores don't want to sell syringes because the addicts will shoot up in the bathroom or parking lot and leave syringes all over the place.

 

[tkim]

Sorry, but you've got to be kidding. What is the first sign of an overdose/at what point would an opioid users friend or family begin to suspect an OD? In my mind the first alarm is that an individual is difficult to rouse or unresponsive. Is the concerned friend/family member going to lift the 160lbs of dead weight (pun partially intended) into their car, drive down to the pharmacy, and cross their fingers hoping their loved one doesn't aspirate vomit during 20 minute dragging/driving episode as well as the ensuing 15 minute wait in the pharmacy? Are you seriously going to be negligent enough to tell someone to wait 15 minutes then go to the hospital for the next dose of naloxone? The whole point of BTC/OTC naloxone was to be a precautionary measure to have on hand in emergencies, not a reactive place to receive treatment for an acute OD.

Absolutely agree. If there's someone who overdosed, don't fill the script, call 911. If in the store or in the car in the parking lot, call 911 and use the narcan. If they say person's somewhere else, call 911 to that location.

 

[RPh Who]

RPh Who it's very possible that they overdose on your store's property or a nearby property. That's why a lot of stores don't want to sell syringes because the addicts will shoot up in the bathroom or parking lot and leave syringes all over the place.

Unfortunately, I was a pharmacist in Las Vegas and have seen this. My point here is that a retail pharmacy is not a sick room service nor is it our job to make the world safe for addicts/abusers. Call 911, go to the emergency room. That is the final destination anyways unless you are going to fill multiple scripts each time the prior dose wears off. Why come take a dump on my doorstep when the EMS route produces a more rapid response in the first place?

 

[Dred Pirate]

I wouldn't even bother with the flu shots. Most years they are minimally effective if at all. By the time the virus reaches our shores it has mutated and doesn't resemble the strains which were in the Asian countries where it was sampled months prior. The CDC is just another corrupt gov't organization which rubber stamps all vaccines that they "evaluate". They are greatly influenced by corporate American which influences all other branches of our gov't. I am surprised they pulled nasal Flumist. I wonder how long they knew about its lack of efficacy. How did it even make it to market?

So in short dispense the naloxone first. You may actually save a life with it.

get over this crap

 

[Unchained]

get over this crap

How about trying to refute what I've written. You know it's true. Life is much easier lived amongst the sheep.

 

[farmadiazepine]

You must be fu*king kidding me.. You need to get slapped in the face.

The whole fu*king point of naloxone available from pharmacy is to have it at home in case of emergency. It's not so that once a person overdoses, they stop by their local CVS, wait in line, and kindly ask for a naloxone.

If somebody overdosed, call 911 immediately. That's it. Chances are the person didn't overdose in the pharmacy. Who in their right mind is going to wait 15 minutes for a naloxone from the pharmacy while their friend is almost dead? You can get an ambulance to them in less than 5 minutes instead.

If I experience situation 1, I tell the person to call 911. That's it. If they want to wait (which I can't even fathom), go ahead and wait. It seems kind of ridiculous.

I have had people come in with shortness of breath and wheezing and they knew they needed an albuterol inhaler. If I saw they weren't in immediate distress, I would do their refill for them or get them a prescription. If they were in immediate distress (it's happened like 3 or 4 times when I worked overnight over 4 years), I go grab a Ventolin, rip that shi* open, shake it, prime it, shake it and give it to them. No questions asked..