Innovative Program
Highlights Best Practices in Pain Management
By Tiffany Parnell
HELPING PATIENTS ACHIEVE SAFE, ADEQUATE PAIN RELIEF IS OFTEN CHALLENGING.
PHARMACIST-DRIVEN PAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS MAY BE ONE PATH TO EFFECTIVELY
ADDRESSING ISSUES SUCH AS OPIOID SAFETY AND HIGH MEDICAL COSTS.
IN
AN INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
report, "Relieving Pain in
America: A Blueprint for
Transforming Prevention,
Care, Education and Research," the
Committee on Advancing Pain Research,
Care and Education estimates chronic
pain has a national, annual cost of
$560 billion to $635 billion. Those
a la r ming sums, coupled w it h t he
advent of a new era in health care that
increasingly ties reimbursement to
hospital readmission rates and patient
satisfaction, underscore a need for better
pain management practices.
A Wraparound Approach
In October 2013, K awea h Delt a
Medical Center in Visalia, California,
launched a Pharmacy Pain Management
S er v ice a nd O pioid St e w a rd sh ip
Program. The comprehensive program
consists of a consultation service that
assesses current pain management
strategies and offers recommendations
as necessary, as well as a component
that helps identify patients at high risk
for opioid-related adverse events and
find solutions for them.
Three clinical pharmacists — Clint
Brow n, Pha r mD; R icha rd Poir ier,
PharmD; and Yleana Garcia, PharmD —
staff the program and are available
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