Pubdate: Sun, 24 Jan 2016
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2016 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://thestarphoenix.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Jonathan Charlton
Page: A2

MEDICAL GROUP BACKS DEVELOPING NALOXONE KITS

Distribution of kits encouraged to help deal with opioid overdoses

The College of Physicians and Surgeons council has given its blessing
for doctors to prescribe naloxone to people other than the drug users
who need it.

"This could be parents; it could be other family members; it could be
associates; it could be shelters or police detention," said addictions
specialist Peter Butt. He's overseeing a pilot project to distribute
naloxone kits and had asked the college for its support.

"It's not unregulated in any way, but rather is part of an integrated
approach to preventing opioid overdose deaths."

The council's statement "encourages the development of a program to
make naloxone kits available to appropriately trained persons who may
deal with individuals who have suffered an opioid overdose."

The council also calls for appropriate safeguards including:
appropriate education for the potential users of such kits; tracking
the prescribing and use of naloxone kits; and the expectation that
emergency medical services will be involved in dealing with a person
who has suffered an overdose.

The tracking is to reduce the potential for someone to get multiple
kits from different doctors, said the college's associate registrar,
Bryan Salte.

Butt worked with the council at its Friday meeting to address the
concerns of some members who felt naloxone itself could be abused.

A drug user could, in theory, use naloxone to even out how much
they're using or speed up their recovery for another use, "but that's
pretty small compared to the very real incidents of death that we're
seeing," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt