Today's Perspective
Kristin Wiisanen, PharmD, FAPhA, FCCP, Pharmacy Today editor in chief
When we think of team-based care, the first thing that comes to mind is often a multidisciplinary provider team. While it is absolutely true that pharmacists partnering with prescribers and other health professionals is a key to quality patient care, this month’s Pharmacy Today cover story (page 20) highlights a different type of collaboration. After a large network of pain clinics closed in upstate South Carolina, the pharmacist–patient team met the urgent needs of 20,000 patients who were left abruptly without providers. Pharmacists and other clinicians in the community banded together with patients to help them find new providers or manage dwindling pain medication supplies.
This scenario highlights the growing need for awareness and action among all clinicians to help patients successfully navigate the opioid tapering process. As frontline providers, pharmacists are well positioned to “be the voice to start the conversation about the benefits of tapering,” said Lisa Hines, PharmD, of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. And many pharmacists are stepping up to do just that by discussing dose decreases, monitoring for withdrawal symptoms, and staying on the lookout for anxiety or other symptoms that may arise or worsen during the tapering process. Find out more about what you can do for your patients, and get new tapering tools in this month’s issue of Today.
You’ll also find a host of other helpful resources, including updated vaccine recommendations (pages 16 and 18), new information on first-line treatment of hypertension (page 12), and counseling tips to help patients avoid confusion with iron supplements (page 26). Start your new year off on the right foot by catching up with recent legal and regulatory changes affecting pharmacy in this month’s CPE article (page 43).
Although many types of interdisciplinary collaborations will be needed to combat the current opioid epidemic in the years to come, the pharmacist–patient team will continue to be an essential one. As you begin this new year, keep an eye out for opportunities to collaborate with patients navigating opioid treatment in the face of chronic pain. Your partnership can be a critical piece of the puzzle on a patient’s path to success.
Have a great Today!