Treatment & Recovery
Jeffrey Bratberg, PharmD
Clinical Professor
University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
Kingston, RI
Traci Green, PhD, Msc
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Community Health Sciences
Boston University School of Medicine
Wayland
Gary Enos, MS
Editor
Addiction Professional
Pompano Beach, FL
Sustained investments in treatment access and availability for opioid use disorder are urgently needed to address the overdose crisis. One way to expand access to pharmacotherapies is to offer addiction care in a pharmacy. This session will feature researchers who conducted qualitative interviews with addiction pharmacist providers and created and piloted a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement (CPA) for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in Rhode Island. First, they performed an environmental scan to investigate CPA requirements. Second, they conducted seven semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders in Australia, Canada, and the United States with MAT maintenance programs. Third, they proposed and then piloted a CPA for MAT to the Board of Pharmacy in Rhode Island, in collaboration with MAT providers and a community pharmacy chain. Findings will highlight the three working examples of CPAs for MAT in the United States. Extant CPAs tended to be integrated into medical teams or co-located with medical services and focused on buprenorphine; billing was a significant barrier. In contrast, pharmacy MAT examples outside the United States were primarily focused on daily provision of methadone, were set within the community rather than a medical environment, and had established billing structures. Since Rhode Island has established MAT induction centers, the CPA for MAT that was proposed, approved, and piloted includes provision of maintenance buprenorphine and naltrexone for stabilized patients. Data will present preliminary clinical and care engagement results from a 11-patient pilot. Presenters will conclude that provision of MAT in a community pharmacy environment is feasible and legal structures such as a CP’s can be used to structure care expansion.
This session is accredited for the following accreditation types: CME, CNE, CPE, APA, AAFP, AAHCPAD*, NAADAC*, ASWB*
*State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.