ArticleJournal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA
Availability and cost of naloxone over time: A longitudinal secret shopper study in North Carolina community pharmacies.
Article in Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundData on long-term longitudinal trends in naloxone availability and cost following the introduction of both brand-name and generic over-the-counter (OTC) products are sparse.
objectivesTo examine how naloxone availability and cost changed over time in North Carolina and explore variation by pharmacy type, rurality, and product type (generic Vs. brand name).
methodsWe conducted a three-phase secret shopper study: phase 1 (March-April 2023; before OTC sales began), phase 2 (November 2023-January 2024; ∼2 months after OTC sales began), and phase 3 (November 2024-January 2025; ∼1 year after OTC sales began). Trained shoppers called a stratified sample of pharmacies to inquire about naloxone nasal spray cost and same-day availability. Generalized linear mixed-effects models examined changes in cost and availability, adjusting for pharmacy type and rurality. Phase 3 cost and availability differences in product type were examined using nonparametric and Fisher's exact tests.
resultsA total of 174 pharmacies provided data for all phases; 54.6% chain and 45.4% independent; 43.6% urban, 14.4% suburban, and 42.0% rural. Same-day availability increased significantly (phase 3 Vs. phase 1: OR = 2.59, p = 0.0005). Adjusted mean out-of-pocket cost decreased across phases ($98 phase 1, $67 phase 2, $56 phase 3; p < 0.0001). Independent pharmacies were approximately $14 more expensive (p < 0.0001) and had lower odds of same-day availability than chain pharmacies (OR = 0.14, p < 0.0001). No significant rurality differences were observed. Generic naloxone was more expensive on average than brand-name ($59.83 Vs. $49.23), though median costs were similar. Availability for both product types was low for both chains and independents. Chains primarily stocked brand-name naloxone (58.2%), whereas independents were more evenly split between brand-name only (44.8%) and generic only (50.0%).
conclusionNaloxone availability and cost improved over time. Independent pharmacies continued to have lower availability and higher costs than chain pharmacies. Generic naloxone was more expensive on average than brand-name naloxone, and few pharmacies stocked both products.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.