Consumer satisfaction with opioid treatment services at community pharmacies in Australia

Lea, Toby; Sheridan, Janie; Winstock, Adam

doi:10.1007/s11096-008-9257-9

Cited by 23 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…34 In another study investigating consumer perspectives, researchers , observed that in general consumers expressed high levels of satisfaction with OST services in pharmacies in NSW, but that there was less satisfaction with the quality of privacy afforded them, and the fact that OST patients claimed to be made to wait longer than other patients or clients in the pharmacy, perceiving they were "treated differently". 35 Interestingly, 23% of the participants in this study were in debt to the pharmacy for their dispensing fees. 35 Dispensing fees have been identified as an important barrier for patients accessing community pharmacy-based OST.…”

Section: Provision Of Opioid Substitution Therapy Services In Australmentioning

confidence: 82%

Provision of opioid substitution therapy services in Australian pharmacies

Chaar

Hanrahan²,

Day³

2011

AMJ

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Opioid dependence, despite being the subject of significant public funding, remains a costly burden to Australian society in human and economic terms. The most cost-effective public health strategy for managing opioid dependence is opioid substitution therapy (OST), primarily through the use of methadone or buprenorphine. Supervised dispensing of OST from specialist clinics and community pharmacies plays a crucial role in enhancing compliance, monitoring treatment and reducing diversion. Australia, compared with other countries in the world, ranks very high in illicit opioid use; hence there is a great demand for OST.The utilisation of community pharmacies for stable patients has many advantages. For public clinics, patient transfer to community pharmacies relieves workload and costs, and increases capacity for new OST patients. From a patient's perspective, dosing at a pharmacy is more flexible and generally more preferable. Pharmacists stand to gain clientele, profit and receive small incentives from state governments in Australia, for their services. Yet, many "unmet needs" exist and there is a high demand for more involvement in OST service provision in community pharmacy in Australia.In the UK there has been a steady increase in community pharmacy provision of OST, and pharmacists appear ready to provide further healthcare services to these patients.The role of pharmacy in some countries in Europe, such as Germany, is less prominent due to their approach to harm minimisation and the complex, variable nature of OST provision across the European Union (EU). The provision of OST by pharmacists in the USA on the other hand is of lesser frequency as the healthcare system in the USA encourages detoxification clinics to handle cases of illicit drug addiction.At a time when harm minimisation strategies constitute a topic of considerable political and public interest, it is important to understand the scope and variability of pharmacy involvement in drug policy in Australia. Hence, this review highlights the role of pharmacists in OST and explores the scope for expanding this role in the future.

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Section: Provision Of Opioid Substitution Therapy Services In Australmentioning

confidence: 82%

Provision of opioid substitution therapy services in Australian pharmacies

Chaar

Hanrahan²,

Day³

2011

AMJ

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“…There is no set dispensing fee charged to OST patients and there are large price disparities across community pharmacies in the various Australian jurisdictions [12]. Previous research indicated that OST fees ranged between $18 and $56 per week [18]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although financial support towards dispensing fees is only one aspect to encourage patients to be treated and be retained in care financial instability is one concern that is frequently raised [10,18,19]. The demographic of patients on OST is generally in the lower income bracket and it was estimated in 2005 that only 17% of Australian OST patients received their main income from paid work [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 2008 Australian study involving 508 OST patients found that 23% of the patients owed money to pharmacies and 32% of the patients could not afford the dispensing fees, which resulted in some patients missing their dose(s) [18]. This study also indicated that patients were not satisfied with the dosing hours, number of venues available to dose, and not having enough take-away doses [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study also indicated that patients were not satisfied with the dosing hours, number of venues available to dose, and not having enough take-away doses [18]. A study conducted in the United States of America (USA) evaluated the retention rates of patients on OST within two states after OST treatment subsidisation by Medicaid was introduced [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of dispensing fees on compliance with opioid substitution therapy: a mixed methods study

Shepherd

Perrella

Hattingh

2014

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

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BackgroundOpioid substitution therapy (OST) programs involve the dispensing of OST medicines to patients to address their dependence on heroin and/or other opioid substances. OST medicines are subsidised by the Australian government but patients need to pay the dispensing fees. This study explored opinions from OST patients and stakeholders about the potential impact of dispensing fees on compliance and OST program retention. Current and past experiences and the potential impact of OST dispensing fees were evaluated.MethodsMixed methodology was used to obtain data from OST patients and stakeholders. This involved 1) interviews with OST stakeholders, 2) a focus group of OST patients and 3) surveys of OST patients in Perth, Australia, between June and August 2013.ResultsThe majority of the eight stakeholders declared cost as the factor mostly impacting on OST compliance. Almost all of the stakeholders commented that there was a positive correlation between time on the OST program and success in terms of relapse. Most stakeholders advocated for OST fees to contribute towards the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Safety Net, and for fee subsidy. Focus group themes supported stakeholder interview findings. A total of 138 surveys were completed. Survey analysis illustrated a strong correlation between patient debt and impacted lifestyle: 82.4% (p < 0.001, Chi-square test) of the 138 survey participants stated that dispensing fees impacted significantly on patients’ finances and lifestyle, specifically those patients with major debt. The cost of dispensing fees was identified by 46.3% (64/138) of survey participants as the biggest impacting factor on patient success. Logistic regression models showed that the cost of dispensing fees was also found to significantly influence both the occurrence of debt (57.7%, p < 0.0001) and lifestyle difficulties (80.0%, p = 0.0004).ConclusionFindings provided insight into OST patients’ financial difficulties with data suggesting that dispensing fees are likely to have a negative impact on OST patients’ compliance with therapy, retention in the OST program and lifestyle. Government sponsorship of the OST dispensing fees should be considered as sponsorship would potentially increase the retention rates of income-poor OST program recipients.

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Knowledge and attitudes of final year pharmacy students toward opioid substitution therapy

Snoswell

Hollingworth

2016

Pharmacy Practice and Res

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Background Opioid substitution therapy (OST) prevents opioid withdrawal and positively affects clients and the community. In 2013 there were 47 442 Australian OST clients, and 88% of these received their services in pharmacies. Provision of OST is currently offered in only two out of every five community pharmacies, and therefore it is crucial that competent registered Australian pharmacists be comfortable in its execution. Aim To examine the knowledge and attitudes of final year pharmacy students toward OST. Method A survey was developed and all final year pharmacy students from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) were given the opportunity to participate (n = 251 and 79 respectively). Respondents were divided into three cohorts; inexperienced, indirectly experienced, and directly experienced with OST provision. Results Sixty‐four students completed all of the survey questions (51 from UQ and 13 from QUT). The average number of correct scores for the knowledge questions was 3.7, 4.2 and 4.2 out of eight for inexperienced, indirectly experienced and directly experienced students respectively. There was a large number of ‘I don't know’ responses for the knowledge questions. Overall, respondents indicated a positive association with the OST program, but only 33% of respondents said they would be comfortable providing OST as a new graduate. Conclusion Students would be more comfortable providing OST if greater education and training were available. OST provision is offered by 39% of pharmacies and it is important that graduate pharmacists be comfortable providing this service. Increased education within the current Bachelor program is recommended.

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Consumer satisfaction with opioid treatment services at community pharmacies in Australia

Cited by 23 publications

References 20 publications

Provision of opioid substitution therapy services in Australian pharmacies

Provision of opioid substitution therapy services in Australian pharmacies

The impact of dispensing fees on compliance with opioid substitution therapy: a mixed methods study

Knowledge and attitudes of final year pharmacy students toward opioid substitution therapy

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