Naloxone Success Story Evaluating the Take Home Pilot
A
s we reported in issue 91 (see issuu.com/ hepccsa/docs/hcn91/14), the Australian Government funded a Take Home Naloxone (THN) Pilot as part of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), allowing people at risk of experiencing or likely to witness an opioid overdose to access naloxone without
a prescription, at no cost to themselves, and from a range of pharmacies and other approved sites in NSW, SA and WA. In September 2019, the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Queensland began an evaluation of the pilot scheme to inform policy and practice in preparation
for a potential national rollout of THN. The evaluation findings, covering the implementation of the pilot scheme from its commencement on 1 December 2019 up until 30 June 2021 (though the pilot is intended to continue until 30 June 2022), are extremel;y positive.
Improving Access
• More occasions of naloxone supply were recorded: 27,955 supplies over 18 months of the Pilot compared to 3,579 supplies through the PBS in the previous 2 years. • 1,480 sites registered for the Pilot but only 846 (57%) provided THN during the evaluation period; the active participation rate for other authorised providers was higher (82.5%) than that of community pharmacies (52%). • More settings provided THN; pharmacies, specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) services, justice and correction settings, and general health services such as hospitals.
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HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS 93 • March 2022
