Evaluating Outcomes of a Pharmacist-Driven Pain Management Consult Service

Abstract

The opioid crisis continues to place a significant burden on American families and the healthcare system. To date, there is an evolving body of evidence demonstrating that pharmacists can positively impact patient care in the pain management specialty. The purpose of this study is to evaluate 24-hour average pain scores before and after a clinical pharmacist completes a physician-ordered pain consult in a community hospital setting. For the primary outcome, there was a statistically significant reduction in pain scores 48 hours post consult (6.5 vs. 5.2; p < 0.001; Table 3) and 24 hours prior to discharge (6.1 vs. 4.5; p < 0.001; Table 3) when compared to pain scores 24 hours prior to consult. Additionally, there was a statistically significant reduction in the number of morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) at 48 hours post consult (149.4 vs. 133.8; p < 0.001; Table 4) and 24 hours prior to discharge (136.5 vs. 100.6; p < 0.001; Table 4) when compared to 24 hours prior to consult. This pharmacist-driven pain consult service demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in pain scores while simultaneously reducing MME utilization and the number of opioids ordered, using a multimodal evidence-driven approach to pain management in a community hospital.

Keywords:

• pharmacist
• pain management
• pain
• opioid
• consult

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the entire research team for their guidance and support on this project. This study would not have been possible without the commitment from CHI Saint Joseph Health to advancing opioid stewardship.

Declaration of interest

The authors have disclosed that they do not have any financial or ethical conflicts of interest. No funding was given to conduct this study.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.