The pharmacist's role in pain management

Pharmacists now are able to contribute far more to pain management than in the past, through drug therapy monitoring, patient and staff education, and other means, To improve patient care, pharmacists can become better informed on pain management through programs of the American Pain Society and state cancer pain initiatives. Standards to monitor quality of care have been developed by the American Pain Society. Guidelines to assist in choices of drug therapy have been published the American Pain Society, the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and by several state cancer pain initiatives. A practical approach for pharmacists to become more involved in gathering information about pain patients through chart reviews, interviewing patients, and selecting appropriate medications and routes specific to patients’ needs is presented. To optimally impact patient care outcomes, it is mandatory for pharmacists to become familiar with the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications used to treat pain. Pharmacists practicing on orga-. nized health care settings can have a significant impact on pain management by becoming involved with reviewing the Quality Assurance Standards for pain treatment. These pharmacists’ unique accessibility to patients, physicians, and the process, places them in an excellent position to have an impact on improving the treatment of pain.