The University of Sydney has partnered with the Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs (NSW Ministry of Health), Pharmacy Guild of Australia (NSW Branch) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to implement the community pharmacy-based depot buprenorphine pilot.
The pilot commenced in June 2022 and will run to October 2022. During this time, pharmacists are asked to provide 3 monthly injections to patients prescribed depot buprenorphine.
This pilot project aims to establish a model of care where patients prescribed depot buprenorphine can choose to have their dose administered at their community pharmacy, increasing access and choice for patients on the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP).
Pharmacies participating in the pilot were selected through an Expression of Interest process and were required to meet a set of minimum service requirements. In addition, pharmacists were required to undertake two online modules of training and complete a short assessment.
The list of minimum service requirements can be found here
The training can be found here
An evaluation of the pilot is being led by the University of Sydney, School of Pharmacy. The evaluation will look at:
- the experience of consumers in receiving care
- the experience of pharmacists in providing care
- the sustainability of the model
- providing guidance around this model of care e.g., minimum requirements, clinical training and competency standards.
More information on the Depot Buprenorphine in Pharmacy Pilot can be found on the pilot project webpage or in this Information Sheet/ FAQ. Key Contact:Joel Hillman (joel.hillman@sydney.edu.au), Pilot Project Lead