In Support of Overdose Prevention Centers: Position Statement of AMERSA, Inc (Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction).

Given increasing rates of fatal overdoses in the United States and the rapidly changing drug supply, overdose prevention centers (OPCs; also known as safe consumption sites) have been identified as a vital, evidence-based strategy that provide people who use drugs (PWUD) the opportunity to use drugs safely and receive immediate, life-saving overdose support from trained personnel. In addition to providing a safe, supervised space to use drugs, OPCs can house further essential harm reduction drop-in services such as sterile supplies, social services, and medical care. There are established national and international data demonstrating the lifesaving services provided by OPCs, inspiring a groundswell of advocacy efforts to expand these programs in the United States. Thus, the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) endorses OPCs, in addition to other harm reduction strategies that protect PWUD. Ultimately, it is imperative to increase access to OPCs across the United States and support key policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels that would facilitate urgent expansion.

Retrospective financial analysis of wellness center from an independent community pharmacy perspective.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the net financial gain or loss from health screening services provided to patients at an independent community pharmacy-based wellness center. DESIGN: Retrospective review of pharmacy wellness center records over a 24-month period. SETTING: A wellness center at one independent community pharmacy. PARTICIPANTS: Patients receiving one or more of nine different services (blood pressure [BP], blood glucose, body fat [BF], glycosylated hemoglobin [A1C], bone density [BD], total cholesterol/blood glucose, total lipid panel [TLP], total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein, alanine aminotransferase) during a 2-year period. INTERVENTIONS: The services were performed and results recorded by a resident or staff pharmacist. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Using a pharmacy perspective, net financial gains or losses were calculated for each of the individual services, for all of the services performed using the Cholestech LDX Analyzer, and for the wellness center as a whole. Sensitivity analyses were based upon a pharmacist, a pharmacy resident, or both a pharmacist and pharmacy resident each providing half of the total number of services over the 2-year period. RESULTS: A total of 1,181 pharmacy records for the selected services were reviewed for the specified time period. A net financial gain for the wellness center was achieved when the services were performed by a pharmacist, a pharmacy resident, or a pharmacist/pharmacy resident combination, respectively. Three of the individual services (BG, BF and TLP) and assays performed using the Cholestech LDX Analyzer had a net financial gain for each sensitivity analysis. Two of the services (BP and AIC) had a net financial gain only when a resident provided the service. One of the services (BD) had a net financial loss for all of analyses. CONCLUSION: Revenues for these services exceeded their costs from the wellness center perspective when they were performed by a pharmacist, a pharmacy resident, or a pharmacist/pharmacy resident combination.