Naloxone Accessibility Under the State Standing Order Across Mississippi

Abstract

ImportanceNaloxone is a life-saving medication for individuals experiencing an opioid overdose. Naloxone standing orders aim to make naloxone more available by allowing patients improved access to this medication at community pharmacies; however, lawful availability does not mean that this life-saving intervention is accessible to patients.ObjectiveTo characterize naloxone availability and out-of-pocket cost under the state standing order in Mississippi.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis telephone-based, mystery-shopper census survey study included Mississippi community pharmacies open to the general public in Mississippi at the time of data collection. Community pharmacies were identified using the Hayes Directories April 2022 complete Mississippi pharmacy database. Data were collected from February to August 2022.ExposuresMississippi House bill 996, the Naloxone Standing Order Act, signed into law in 2017, allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone under a physician state standing order at a patient’s request.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcomes were naloxone availability under Mississippi’s state standing order and the out-of-pocket cost of available formulations.ResultsThere were 591 open-door community pharmacies surveyed for this study, with a 100% response rate. The most common pharmacy type was independent (328 [55.50%]), followed by chain (147 [24.87%]) and grocery store (116 [19.63%]). When asked, “Do you have naloxone that I can pick up today?” 216 Mississippi pharmacies (36.55%) had naloxone available for purchase under the state standing order. Of the 591 pharmacies, 242 (40.95%) were unwilling to dispense naloxone under the state standing order. Among the 216 pharmacies with naloxone available, the median out-of-pocket cost for naloxone nasal spray (n = 202) across Mississippi was $100.00 (range, $38.11-$229.39; mean [SD], $105.58 [$35.42]) and the median out-of-pocket cost of naloxone injection (n = 14) was $37.70 (range, $17.00-$208.96; mean [SD], $66.62 [$69.27]).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this survey study of open-door Mississippi community pharmacies, availability of naloxone was limited despite standing order implementation. This finding has important implications for the effectiveness of the legislation in preventing opioid overdose deaths in this region. Further studies are needed to understand pharmacists’ unwillingness to dispense naloxone and the implications of lack of availability and unwillingness for further naloxone access interventions.