State laws vary, but pharmacists can be integral to naloxone access
Pharmacists in New Mexico were some of the first in the nation to prescribe naloxone—an antidote for opioid overdose. Naloxone is covered under Medicaid in New Mexico. But in 2014, only 87 naloxone Medicaid claims came from 23 unique pharmacies across the state. That number has grown to 808 claims for naloxone from 100 unique outpatient pharmacies in just the first two quarters of 2016.
The increase in naloxone access can be attributed in large part to a novel pharmacist-initiated naloxone program. Since April, a group of pharmacists who are part of a nonprofit HIV/Hepatitis C clinic in New Mexico have been traveling onsite to pharmacies in the state and training pharmacists to operate a naloxone program.
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