Impact of California Statute on Naloxone Availability and Opioid Overdose Rates.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Ensuring that people at risk of overdosing on opioids have easy access to naloxone is an essential part of the fight against the opioid crisis. This study evaluates the impact of the 2016 California law (CA AB1535) permitting pharmacies to dispense this life-saving medication without a physician's prescription.

Methods

California counties were categorized on the basis of population density (rural, suburban, urban), rate of opioid-related deaths by population density (high, medium, low), and rate of opioid prescriptions by population density (high, medium, low). Ten diverse pharmacies from each category were selected for inclusion. In a brief 1-minute interview conducted between July and August 2021, pharmacists from 146 California pharmacies were surveyed regard

SUBMITTER: Gallant TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10546523 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature