News Archive
IU McKinney Professor Contributes Legal Insight in IU Naloxone Study
05/17/2018
.jpg)
When IU researchers investigated the role of Indiana community pharmacies and access to the life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, they turned to an IU McKinney School of Law professor for legal expertise.
Aila Hoss, Visiting Assistant Professor at IU McKinney School of Law, provided insight on the legal mechanisms used to promote naloxone access for a study by researchers at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington's Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the Institute for Research on Addictive Behavior.
The study, recently published in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal, found that only one in four pharmacists in Indiana have actually dispensed naloxone. While 58 percent of pharmacies stocked naloxone and 48 percent of pharmacists were comfortable dispensing it, only 24 percent of pharmacists had actually dispensed the medication. The data was surprising given Indiana's 2016 statewide standing order allowing naloxone dispensing without an exam and the fact that a majority of pharmacists believed the order would increase both naloxone stocking and dispensing, according to Beth Meyerson, co-director of the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention, who led the study.
Hoss says the project dovetailed nicely with her work as a Grand Challenges Fellow, part of IU's Grand Challenges program to prevent, reduce and treat addictions in Indiana.
“This is a great example of the value of cross-disciplinary teams to better understand the role of law on public health practice,” Professor Hoss said. “Underneath every issue, there is a legal foundation and laws that either promote or create a barrier to effective public health practice.”
Hoss is a member of the IU McKinney team researching “Legal and Policy Best Practices in Response to the Opioid Epidemic,” The IU McKinney team recently released a preliminary report that details findings from a qualitative study involving key stakeholders, together with original evidence-based research designed to reduce barriers to effective harm reduction and treatment interventions to the opioids crisis.
