Kroger offers Naloxone without prescription
Pharmacist Amanda Shaver displays a pair of Naloxone products that can now be purchased without a prescription at 34 Kroger stores in West Virginia Tuesday at the Division Street Kroger in Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
A pair of Naloxone products — on the left, a nasal spray, on the right, one that can be delivered by injection or nasal spray — are shown at the Division Street Kroger in Parkersburg Tuesday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Pharmacist Amanda Shaver displays a pair of Naloxone products that can now be purchased without a prescription at 34 Kroger stores in West Virginia Tuesday at the Division Street Kroger in Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
A pair of Naloxone products — on the left, a nasal spray, on the right, one that can be delivered by injection or nasal spray — are shown at the Division Street Kroger in Parkersburg Tuesday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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PARKERSBURG -- Area Kroger pharmacies will now offer Naloxone, which is administered in cases of opioid overdose, without a prescription.
Kroger's Mid-Atlantic Division, which oversees 121 stores, 118 pharmacies and 93 fuel centers in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, announced the change Monday.
Thirty-four Kroger pharmacies in West Virginia will now offer Naloxone without a prescription. The move is made possible due to a change in state law last year, and comes amid an opioid crisis in the state.
In 2015, West Virginia had the highest rate of death due to drug overdose in the United States at 41.5 deaths per 100,000 population, more than double the national rate.
"Making Naloxone available in our pharmacies is an important step in allowing family members, friends and caregivers of those struggling with addiction an opportunity to overcome it," David Potters, executive director of the West Virginia State Board of Pharmacy, said this week in a Kroger press release.
Last year, the West Virginia Legislature adopted a law allowing pharmacies to dispense Naloxone without a prescription. The legislation also called for the Board of Pharmacy and the Bureau of Public Health to develop a protocol for patient counseling, educational materials and documentation through the West Virginia Controlled Substances Monitoring Program.
"I personally think it's a good idea," said Wood County Sheriff Steve Stephens. "Especially if family are around, they're usually the first ones that find (someone who has overdosed) and notify us. This would allow them to respond to it without having to wait on EMS. I think it's a good idea."
Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin said he could see both a benefit and a downside in allowing people to purchase Naloxone without a prescription.
"A lot of our resources are tied up with overdoses. We're there to support EMS when they administer Naloxone, whether it's fire department or EMTs," he said. "We had 50 overdoses in the month of January. Five of those died. The families of those 45 are probably grateful for Naloxone. If I had an addicted son or daughter, I'd definitely want access to that product."
But Martin said the use of Naloxone by families, possibly without any call to emergency services, could make investigating drug crimes more difficult and could lead to deaths if improperly administered.
Martin said it also removes some of the fear of drug use.
"It gives them a false sense of security," he said. "That's a hard thing to say. We as a society want everyone to be helped, but Naloxone isn't solving the problem, it's kicking the proverbial can down the street."
Shannon Gooden, patient care coordinator for the Charleston-Huntington Kroger pharmacies, said those wishing to purchase Naloxone or its brand-name counterpart Narcan must be at least 18 years of age and must go to the pharmacy counter.
"It will not be on the shelves in the store. It's still kept behind the counter of the pharmacy like a prescription drug," she said. "When a patient requests it, there is a form they have to fill out with basic information."
Gooden said the price varies based on the product and in some cases will be covered by insurance, requiring only a copay. State law requires the purchaser meet with a pharmacist to review use and storage of the product, as well as the signs and symptoms of a drug overdose.
"The patient has to sign that they have received the counseling and understand it," she said. "It's not a fast process by any means."
Gooden said in many cases the purchaser will be friends or family of an opioid user, but there also will be patients taking opioids for pain management who also will purchase Naloxone.
"There can be accidental overdoses in those situations," she said.