Identifying Barriers to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, Improving Care Practices

Researchers collected perspectives from community pharmacists, peer recovery coaches, and prescribers to determine access barriers to current medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) and optimize patient care. Findings were recently published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

The study included 10 peer recovery coaches, 10 pharmacists, and 6 prescribers who were individually interviewed with a focus on stakeholders’ perspectives on their current role in medications for OUD care practices and areas for improvement.

All groups identified stigma as a major barrier. Other top identified barriers included limited patient engagement at pharmacies and lack of access to patient specific health information in community pharmacy settings.

“Pharmacists also identified additional barriers including Drug Enforcement Administration regulations and difficulties balancing patient care with external factors like insurance and legal policies,” reported researchers.

Participants identified positive prescriber/pharmacist relationships as a facilitator of care.

Community medications for OUD resource information being available at pharmacies, increased collaboration between pharmacists and prescribers, and further education for pharmacists on medications for OUD were all listed as opportunities for improvement.

“Additional pharmacist medications for OUD care education and intentional collaboration between pharmacists, peer recovery coaches, and prescribers would facilitate better care and leverage the accessibility of pharmacists within their communities,” wrote study authors.

Reference:
Comanici KH, Nichols MA, Scott S, et al. Understanding the role of community pharmacies in current medication for opioid use disorder care practices. J Am Pharm Assoc. Published online September 5, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.japh.2022.08.027