The Pharmacy Guild’s Learning and Development platform features a new online course, ‘Opioid substitution therapy: A guide for pharmacists’.
The module includes the pharmacological basis for using substitution therapy, its benefits and aims for treatment.
The course also provides preliminary information for pharmacists who wish to initiate an opioid substitution therapy service within their pharmacy.
The Guild says opioid dependence is a complex health condition that often requires long-term treatment and care, and pharmacy plays an important role in opioid substitution therapy, making up 89 per cent of all dosing points in Australia.
Nearly 50,000 people in Australia use methadone or buprenorphine to treat opioid dependence, and an estimated 40,000 people are eligible for opioid substitution therapy who, for many different reasons, are not accessing treatment.
A successful opioid substitution program, according to the Guild, requires a good understanding of the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of the prescribed medicines and how these relate to patient outcomes and safety, as well as an understanding of the regulatory and practical requirements of supply.
The online course activity has been accredited for 1.5 CPD credits, suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan, which can be converted to 1.5 hours of Group 2 CPD (or 3 CPD credits) upon successful completion of relevant assessment activities.
To enrol in this course, visit guilded.guild.org.au.
For more information, contact Guild Learning and Development on 03 9810 9930 or email learninganddevelopment@guild.org.au.
