Access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) is a challenge in rural settings and communities of color due, in part, to the limited availability of healthcare providers equipped and willing to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Recent discussion has explored the role of pharmacies in enhancing access to MOUD within underserved areas. However, pharmacies face multiple obstacles related to expanded responsibilities in dispensing MOUD, especially in rural and other communities.

To address this issue, the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) funded a study (CTN-0124) to examine the practicality of expanding pharmacy roles in treating OUD in underserved communities.

KTL helped to lead the nine-month engineering systems analysis, assessing the existing system, envisioning an ideal future state, identifying gaps, and highlighting improvement opportunities. The study, Delivering MOUD to the Underserved: How Can Pharmacies Really Helped?, was recently published in the October 15, 2024 edition of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.