Imagine deciding that a prescription for buprenorphine, a safe opioid replacement, might save your life. Think about how hard it must be to come to that realization. For people with opioid use disorder (what laypeople might call being “dangerously addicted to opioids”), deciding to start taking oral buprenorphine is what I sometimes call a “holy moment.” There are many “holy moments” in medicine. Holy moments are metaphorical forks in the road. One path may save a patient’s life, while the other could cost it.
Perhaps you can discuss the reasons pharmacies either don't carry or admit to carrying Buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. A therapy, as you mentioned, may be life-saving. Thank you.
The ones that don’t carry it are likely behind the times in terms of “moral” issues with this approach to treatment. Truly unfortunate, if that’s why. I suspect it often is.
The ones that don’t say probably don’t want to open a can of worms for other meds that may or may not be in stock. But that’s information that could help patients. So we should require that they do for all prescription meds they carry, in my view.
Perhaps you can discuss the reasons pharmacies either don't carry or admit to carrying Buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. A therapy, as you mentioned, may be life-saving. Thank you.
The ones that don’t carry it are likely behind the times in terms of “moral” issues with this approach to treatment. Truly unfortunate, if that’s why. I suspect it often is.
The ones that don’t say probably don’t want to open a can of worms for other meds that may or may not be in stock. But that’s information that could help patients. So we should require that they do for all prescription meds they carry, in my view.