Life-Saving Naloxone from Pharmacies: CDC Vital Signs Report

Video: August 2019 Life-Saving Naloxone from Pharmacies

About 48,000 US drug overdose deaths involved opioids in 2017. Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Pharmacists and other healthcare providers play a critical role in ensuring patients receive naloxone. Many states have laws that allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription (called standing orders), which have contributed to lowering deaths. Dispensing has increased in recent years, but more work needs to be done, particularly in rural counties.

Key Points:

• The number of prescriptions for naloxone doubled from 2017 to 2018. 

• Only 1 naloxone prescription is dispensed for every 70 high-dose opioid prescriptions. 

• Rural counties are nearly 3 times more likely to be ranked low dispensing than metropolitan counties.

Vital Signs is a monthly report that appears as part of the CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.