Naloxone is an antidote to opioid overdose also known as Narcan.
Irish family doctors in training want Narcan to be more available and want to distribute it.
We poled 136 Irish family doctors attending a training conference. They were in their third and final years of residency.
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| photocredit: oxywatchdog.com |
We found that trainees have real experience of the problem at an early phase of their careers, and
trainees are conscious of the needs of people with opioid use disorders and the potential of family medicine to meet these needs, but trainees receive little structured preparation for this role.
Irish family doctors in training are keen to distribute Naloxone in the community.
More people die in Ireland due to opioid overdoses than in car accidents.
Naloxone can save lives. Ireland has approximately 640 doctors in specialist training for family medicine at any time. Although 60% of them have administered Naloxone to a person in overdose, only 13% of their training clinics prescribe methadone to people with opioid use disorders.
Reference:
Klimas, J., Tobin, H., Egan, M., Barry, T., Bury, G. (2016) General Practice – a key route for distribution of naloxone in the community. Experience, interest and training needs in Ireland. J Int Drug Policy, 38:1-3