Health Care & Insurance  December 6, 2018

Good Day continues work to combat opioid overdoses

LOVELAND — Good Day Pharmacy based in Loveland with 11 retail locations around Northern Colorado will continue its efforts to bring information to the community about use of naloxone to combat opioid overdoses.

Good Day Pharmacy, the trade name for pharmacies operated by Professional Pharmacy Services Inc., reached a large number of its customers in 2018 and will continue in 2019.

“In 2018, we dispensed 120 naloxone/Narcan prescriptions to our patients, and our goal is to counsel at least 200 patients in 2019 and arm them with naloxone,” said Karen Price, Good Day marketing director.

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Good Day decided in the fall of 2015 that it would begin educating patients about the life-saving drug naloxone, which comes in the following variations: Naloxone (generic injection), Narcan (brand name naloxone nasal spray), and Evzio (brand name autoinjector).

“It was astonishing how many of our patients didn’t know naloxone existed, and also didn’t know that being on an opioid put them at higher risk of overdose,” Price said.

“The conversations aren’t always easy, and the training we received prepared us for the questions we would be asked, and how to empathetically reply and provide recommendations and solutions,” said Karly Bergquist, PharmD, pharmacy resident at Good Day.

In summer 2018, Good Day joined forces with the Health District of Northern Larimer County, Colorado Health Network, Northern Colorado AIDS Project and Larimer Court Support Inc. to sponsor the first Overdose Awareness Day in Larimer County. The goal of the event was to increase overdose awareness and provide resources and educational information to attendees. Two hundred people were trained on the signs of overdose, how to administer naloxone and Narcan, how to obtain it, and distributed 200 doses of the drug to people who underwent the training.

Last month, Good Day instituted a new opioid management program to help protect patients and prevent opioid overdose. Good Day uses technology that helps identify patients at high risk of opioid overdose. Once patients are identified, a pharmacist trained in opioid counseling calls patients to find out how their medication therapy is working, discusses side effects/concerns/problems, establishes medication goals with the patient when appropriate, discusses whether the prescribed opioids are meeting treatment goals, and makes recommendations including naloxone training and assistance with obtaining naloxone. Recommendations may also include opioid tapering if appropriate, and even establishing a long-term goal of discontinuing the opioid.

“When we call patients, it’s pretty common to hear that they are willing to decrease their dose or taper off their opioid medication, but they just needed the phone call, some support, and someone with clinical knowledge on how to complete the task,” said Bergquist.

 

LOVELAND — Good Day Pharmacy based in Loveland with 11 retail locations around Northern Colorado will continue its efforts to bring information to the community about use of naloxone to combat opioid overdoses.

Good Day Pharmacy, the trade name for pharmacies operated by Professional Pharmacy Services Inc., reached a large number of its customers in 2018 and will continue in 2019.

“In 2018, we dispensed 120 naloxone/Narcan prescriptions to our patients, and our goal is to counsel at least 200 patients in 2019 and arm them with naloxone,” said Karen Price, Good Day marketing director.

Ken Amundson
Ken Amundson is managing editor of BizWest. He has lived in Loveland and reported on issues in the region since 1987. Prior to Colorado, he reported and edited for news organizations in Minnesota and Iowa. He's a parent of two and grandparent of four, all of whom make their homes on the Front Range. A news junkie at heart, he also enjoys competitive sports, especially the Rapids.
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