Harnessing the Evidence: Implementing NCPA and NABP’s PhARM-OUD Guidelines to Improve Access to Buprenorphine in your Pharmacy

Buprenorphine is the only agonist medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) that can be dispensed in all community in the United States. With the passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act in late 2022, any DEA licensed prescriber can now prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD. This landmark legislation promises to extend access to buprenorphine, still, only around half of all pharmacies in the United States stock buprenorphine. Maintaining supply of buprenorphine is challenging for pharmacies that must carefully monitor their controlled substance purchasing and dispensing to avoid crossing distributor thresholds or encountering other regulatory barriers. Treatment with buprenorphine is not possible without pharmacists. For this reason, NCPA partnered with NABP, the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, and others to create the Pharmacy Access to Resources and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Practice Guideline. This first of its kind practice guideline for community pharmacists addresses many of the regulatory and administrative barriers that make it difficult for pharmacists to dispense buprenorphine. In this session, Dr. Tyler Varisco, the principal investigator of this initiative, will review the evidence supporting the safe and effective use of buprenorphine before reviewing the creation of the PhARM-OUD Guidelines and implementing their recommendations in practice.