Rite Aid increases naloxone access across pharmacies in several states
Rite Aid announced that naloxone, which can be used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, will be available in more than 2,500 pharmacies across the United States without a prescription. This news comes after the retailer expanded access to the medication across six states in the previous year.
“The opioid epidemic has reached epic proportions and it is an issue that demands not only our attention but also our continued action to help reduce the rise in opioid deaths,” Jocelyn Konrad, Rite Aid executive vice president of pharmacy, said. “For the past two years, we’ve worked with state and federal lawmakers to increase access to this life-saving medication. We support the Surgeon General’s recent Advisory on the importance of naloxone and are committed to offering it to our customers in all of the communities we serve.”
The Camp Hill, P.A.-based company’s pharmacists have been supplied with additional training to dispense the medication and provide counseling to patients who purchase it.
Pharmacies in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, currently have a stock of naloxone, the company said.
In addition to increasing access to the medication, Rite Aid is taking other measures to address drug misuse and abuse, which include:
Further information can be found by visiting Rite Aid's website.
“The opioid epidemic has reached epic proportions and it is an issue that demands not only our attention but also our continued action to help reduce the rise in opioid deaths,” Jocelyn Konrad, Rite Aid executive vice president of pharmacy, said. “For the past two years, we’ve worked with state and federal lawmakers to increase access to this life-saving medication. We support the Surgeon General’s recent Advisory on the importance of naloxone and are committed to offering it to our customers in all of the communities we serve.”
The Camp Hill, P.A.-based company’s pharmacists have been supplied with additional training to dispense the medication and provide counseling to patients who purchase it.
Pharmacies in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, currently have a stock of naloxone, the company said.
In addition to increasing access to the medication, Rite Aid is taking other measures to address drug misuse and abuse, which include:
- Supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for prescribing opioids by limiting acute opioid prescriptions to a seven day supply, limiting the daily dosage of opioids dispensed based on the strength of the opioid and requiring the use of immediate-release formulations of opioids before extended-release opioids are dispensed;
- Continuing the on-going education and training of its pharmacists by including risk factors for opioid abuse, identifying symptoms of an overdose, what to do in the event of an overdose, an overview of various naloxone therapies available, proper administration, and recommendations for follow-up care;
- Participating in prescription drug monitoring programs, such as “red flag” process for which pharmacists are able to regularly review prescriptions for patients not known by the pharmacy, or where there may be concerns or suspicions of misuse, and the implementation of a process to identify and discontinue filling prescriptions from prescribers with questionable writing practices;
- Increasing patient education efforts by giving all patients receiving opioid prescriptions a handout on opioid use, safe storage, disposal and proper use of naloxone. All patients with new opioid prescriptions will receive mandatory counseling on their prescription from a Rite Aid pharmacist;
- Adding resources on drug safety and disposal on its website where a disposal site in the community can be searched for, learning how to properly dispose of medication at home, and accessing resources provided by the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration; and
- Supporting National Take-Back Days by encouraging patients to bring their unused or unwanted medications to one of the designated sites sponsored by local law enforcement and the DEA.
Further information can be found by visiting Rite Aid's website.