Pharmacy school’s new website documents availability of naloxone
Naloxone Near Me shows how the medication that rapidly reduces opioid overdoses is distributed by county.
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has created a new website that documents sources of no-cost and pharmacy-based naloxone across North Carolina.
Naloxone Near Me is the first website to compile sources of available no-cost and pharmacy-based naloxone in one place. Naloxone is a medication that is highly effective at reversing opioid overdoses. Individuals visiting the website can select any county in North Carolina and find sources of no-cost naloxone and whether pharmacies sell naloxone in that county. The website also includes a link to Naloxone Saves, which directs people to specific locations where they can access naloxone.
“I hope Naloxone Near Me helps counties identify where they can improve naloxone access so they can better advocate for funding to eliminate access gaps,” said Delesha Carpenter, professor and executive vice chair in Eshelman’s division of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy. “That’s the main goal with the website: to help counties identify specific ways they can improve access to naloxone.”
The school started this process in 2023 when they received funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health to create a novel place-based measure of naloxone availability. Researchers started with a survey of organizations who were distributing no-cost naloxone. Then, they obtained access to Medicaid and Medicare prescription claims data and conducted “secret shopper” studies of pharmacies to see if they had over-the-counter naloxone in stock.
Having naloxone can help in situations where people may witness an overdose.
“People mistakenly think they’re safe if they are using nonopioid substances, like cocaine, but opioids like fentanyl are often mixed into these drugs, so it’s important to have naloxone on hand to reverse an overdose,” said Carpenter. “It’s good to have naloxone available if you’re going to be around somebody who is using basically any kind of drug because if they do overdose and you then administer naloxone, it’s very effective at reversing overdoses and preventing death.”
Pharmacy-based distribution of naloxone has been shown to reduce overdose deaths, so it’s important that pharmacies sell naloxone, especially in areas where other opioid overdose prevention services are unavailable. In addition to selling naloxone, pharmacies can partner with community-based organizations to distribute naloxone for free.
“I think, for the state of North Carolina, this can be a trickle-down effect that can benefit everybody,” said Carpenter.
The school hopes to continue updating the website annually and is seeking funding to keep the site updated, since new sources of naloxone are coming online every month.
