Assessment of student pharmacist-led academic detailing on independent community pharmacy naloxone orders

Introduction: Academic detailing has been used as a preferential method to increase pharmacists' awareness of naloxone; however, its impact on actual dispensing rates is not well established.Objective: The aim of this pilot study is to determine if a student-led academic detailing on naloxone use and communication increased the amount of naloxone ordered from independent pharmacies in various geographic settings throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.Methods: Thirty-nine independent pharmacies which utilized a single wholesaler were randomized to receive an in-person, student-led training about naloxone use and communication. Students attended a train-the-trainer presentation to ensure a universal training was provided to all pharmacies. Students were provided with intranasal naloxone demonstration devices, handouts on effective communication, and talking points for each pharmacy visit. All academic detailing sessions were held live at each pharmacy during that pharmacy's regular business hours. Topics covered included appropriate naloxone use, what to expect after giving naloxone, and evidence-based communication methods for engaging with patients about purchasing naloxone. Devices and handouts were left behind for pharmacists to use in daily practice. Naloxone and opioid shipping data for 3 months prior to and 3 months post-intervention were compared.Results: Naloxone ordered in the pre-intervention period was 21 vs. 26 (intervention vs. control) (p = 0.59) and 31 vs. 29 post-intervention (p = 0.25). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of pharmacies which ordered more naloxone pre vs. post-intervention or in the total amount of opioids ordered pre vs. post-intervention.Conclusion: While pharmacies which received academic detailing did order more naloxone than pharmacies which did not, the difference did not rise to a level of statistical significance. As the population of this pilot study was small, expanding this approach to academic detailing to a larger population is warranted to possibly see more robust results.