In late 2022, Congress passed legislation allowing any DEA-registered prescriber to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Only around half of U.S. pharmacies stock it, however, because of controlled substance purchasing and dispensing requirements. To help bring the lifesaving drug to more communities, NCPA, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, and others partnered to create the Pharmacy Access to Resources and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Practice Guideline, a first-of-its-kind practice guideline for community pharmacists addressing those barriers to access.
The PhARM-OUD guideline is designed to educate pharmacists about the importance of providing access to buprenorphine and help them navigate a complex set of regulatory and clinical barriers to access. Read more about the project through this interview with Tyler J. Varisco, PharmD, PhD, who was the lead author of the guidelines.
