Missed Dose
It is of vital importance that the prescriber of any patient who misses 3 consecutive days of opioid substitution treatment is informed as soon as possible (Missed doses can now be recorded via NEO). There are a number of reasons for this:
- There is a risk that the patient may have lost tolerance to the drug and the usual dose may cause overdose.
- There is a risk that the patient has come to some sort of harm. Community Pharmacies are an important point of contact for many patients prescribed OST.
- There is a risk that the patient has moved to another area and their OST has been prescribed elsewhere.
Scotland is currently in the midst of a drug related deaths crisis and community pharmacy can play a vital role in tackling this, particularly through ensuring effective communication between services. Dose recording is now available through NEO, please see below user guides for support.
Naloxone
Following the release of the Drug Death Taskforce Report there was an action for ALL community pharmacies to hold naloxone for administration in an emergency to people who use drugs to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
For more details information about the service please read through the service specification which can be found on the link below
PCA(P)(2023)34 – Naloxone Emergency Supply Service – Additional Pharmaceutical Services
Don’t forget to complete the Naloxone Emergency Supply e-learning modules
Lesson 1 – Drug Related Deaths in Scotland
Lesson 2 – Identifying an overdose
Lesson 3 – Naloxone and its administration