Evaluating Outcomes of a Pharmacist-Driven Pain Management Consult Service

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.