Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep;51(8):639-645.
doi: 10.1310/hpj5108-639.

Impact of a Pharmacy-Led Pain Management Team on Adults in an Academic Medical Center

Stacy Mathew, Carol Chamberlain, Kristin S Alvarez, Carlos A Alvarez, Monal Shah

Impact of a Pharmacy-Led Pain Management Team on Adults in an Academic Medical Center

Stacy Mathew et al. Hosp Pharm. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Pain is a major health problem affecting more than 15% of adults in the United States. In a multidisciplinary pain management team, pharmacists can optimize pharmacotherapy quality by ensuring safe and appropriate medication use. Objective: Assess the impact of a pharmacy pain medication management service on pain-related outcomes in an adult inpatient population. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated patients who were admitted from November 2009 through November 2011 and received a pharmacy pain consult. Patients were excluded if they left against medical advice, their care was assumed by palliative care, or they had no complaint of pain when seen by the pharmacist. The primary outcome was the difference between each patient's average pain score from pre-consult to post-consult. Secondary outcomes were difference between each patient's average pain score from pre-consult to pre-discharge, overall functional improvement, pharmacist interventions, and 14-day and 30-day readmissions. Results: One hundred patients were included in the final analysis. Eight hundred twenty-one interventions were made by the clinical pharmacists. Patients displayed a significant reduction in their pre- and post-consult pain intensity scores on a 0 to 10 numerical rating scale (6.15 vs 3.25; p < .001). Likewise, a significant reduction in pain intensity scores was seen from pre-consult to pre-discharge (6.15 vs 3.6; p < .001). Overall functional improvement, specifically sleep, mobility, and appetite, was seen in 86.6% of patients. Conclusions: Pain management is an area that provides opportunities for pharmacotherapy interventions. Pharmacists' involvement in pain management on an inpatient consult service had a positive impact on pain scores and improvement in functionality.

Keywords: acute pain; chronic pain; pain management; pharmacist.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) Median pain scores for pre-consult versus post-consult. (B) Median pain scores for pre-consult and pre-discharge.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) Pain-related and (B) non-pain-related interventions made by the pharmacy pain team
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Suh ES, Bartlett G, Inguanti M et al. Evaluation of a pharmacist pain management education program and associated medication use in a palliative care population. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2004;61:277–280. - PubMed
    1. Gureje O, Van Korff M, Simon GE et al. Persistent pain and well-being. A World Health Organization study in primary care. JAMA. 1998;280:147–151. - PubMed
    1. Gunnarsdottir S, Donovan HS, Serlin RC et al. Patient-related barriers to pain management: The Barriers Questionnaire II (BQ-II) Pain. 2002;99(3):385–396. - PubMed
    1. Borgsteede SD, Rhodius CA, De Smet P et al. The use of opioids at the end of life: Knowledge level of pharmacists and cooperation with physicians. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2011;67:79–89. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gatchel RJ, McGeary DD, McGeary CA, Lippe B. Interdisciplinary chronic pain management: Past, present, and future. Am Psychol. 2014;69(2):119–130. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources