Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS › Part LIII - Pharmacists › Chapter 25 - Prescriptions, Drugs, and Devices › Subchapter D - Prescription Drugs › Section LIII-2541 - Standing Orders for Distribution of Naloxone and Other Opioid Antagonists

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Given the
				  current public health emergency relative to the misuse and abuse of opioid
				  derivatives, public health officials have strongly recommended the widespread
				  availability of naloxone and other opioid antagonists to addicts and their
				  caregivers as well as first responders in the community.
B. For as long as naloxone and other opioid
				  antagonists remain classified as prescription drugs by the federal Food and
				  Drug Administration, pharmacists must secure a prescription or order from a
				  prescriber with the legal authority to prescribe the drug product in order to
				  dispense or distribute the drug product.
C. The Louisiana Legislature has adopted a
				  number of laws designed to facilitate the distribution and dispensing of
				  naloxone and other opioid antagonists beyond the person who would need the
				  medication on an emergent basis to manage an opioid-related drug overdose, more
				  specifically to first responders as well as caregivers and family and friends
				  of potential patients.
1. Act 253 of the 2014
				  Legislature authorized prescribers to issue prescriptions for naloxone and
				  other opioid antagonists to first responders, and further, authorized
				  pharmacists to recognize such prescriptions as legitimate orders for the
				  dispensing and distribution of naloxone and other opioid antagonist drug
				  products, and further, authorized first responders to have and hold those drug
				  products ready for administration in emergent conditions to manage
				  opioid-related drug overdoses.
2.
				  Act 192 of the 2015 Legislature authorized medical practitioners to prescribe
				  naloxone or another opioid antagonist without having previously examined the
				  individual to whom the medication would be administered, but only under certain
				  conditions specified in the legislation, including the requirement for the
				  prescriber to provide the recipient of the drug with all training and education
				  required for the safe and proper administration of the drug product.
3. Act 370 of the 2016 Legislature authorized
				  medical practitioners to issue nonpatient-specific standing orders to
				  pharmacists authorizing the distribution of naloxone and other opioid
				  antagonists to anyone who might be in a position to assist a patient in the
				  emergent management of an opioid-related drug overdose, but only in compliance
				  with these rules.
a. A nonpatient-specific
				  standing order for the facilitated distribution of naloxone or other opioid
				  antagonist issued by a medical practitioner licensed by the state of Louisiana
				  shall expire one year after the date of issuance.
b. A Louisiana-licensed pharmacist may
				  distribute naloxone or other opioid antagonist according to the terms of the
				  nonpatient-specific standing order issued by a Louisiana-licensed medical
				  practitioner until the expiration date of the standing order No pharmacist
				  shall distribute naloxone or other opioid antagonist pursuant to a standing
				  order more than one year after the date of issuance of the standing
				  order
c. Before releasing the
				  naloxone or other opioid antagonist drug product to the recipient, the
				  pharmacist shall verify the recipients knowledge and understanding of the
				  proper use of the drug product, including, at a minimum:
i. techniques on how to recognize signs of an
				  opioid-related drug overdose;
ii.
				  standards and procedures for the storage and administration of the drug
				  product; and
iii. emergency
				  follow-up procedure including the requirement to summon emergency services
				  either immediately before or immediately after administering the drug product
				  to the individual experiencing the overdose.
d. To comply with the recordkeeping
				  requirements found elsewhere in the boards rules, the pharmacist shall attach a
				  copy of the standing order to the invoice or other record of sale or
				  distribution, and further, shall store these transaction documents with the
				  other distribution records in the pharmacy.