Public Health Committee Invites TPA to Testify About Opioids

Texas Pharmacy Association CEO Debbie Garza was invited to testify on September 13 before the Texas House Committee on Public Health regarding its interim charge to study the impact of fentanyl-related overdoses and death in Texas, to evaluate existing data collection, dissemination, and mitigation strategies regarding opioid abuse in Texas, and make recommendations to improve coordinated prevention, education, treatment, and data-sharing.

“As health care providers on the front lines of patient care who play a critical role in helping the public take their medications safely and effectively, pharmacists are keenly aware of the complexities associated with the opioid epidemic,” Garza said.

She not only discussed the role pharmacists play in reducing opioid abuse and highlighted some of the legislative initiatives that have passed in recent years on the topic, but she also mentioned a few proposals for the committee to consider as it looks toward the upcoming 2023 legislative session, including restoring Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) funding for integration and NarxCare. In addition, Garza said, “we would support having a statewide standing order issued by the Department of State Health Services, similar to what other states have done, to make naloxone more readily available.”

Finally, Garza noted that one way to improve coordinated prevention and education related to patients who may have a substance use disorder issue would be to empower pharmacists to perform screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment services, also known as SBIRT. (View Garza’s comments online beginning at 00:03:30.)