Potential roles of the pharmacist in chronic pain management: a multidisciplinary perspective in primary care

Abstract

Abstract Patients in the community with chronic pain may have poor pain control and use both prescribed and alternative therapies, often inappropriately, to try to optimise pain relief. They may benefit from management by a multidisciplinary primary care team involving a pharmacist. This study used postal questionnaires to determine community pharmacists' attitudes to involvement in pain management and the perceptions of general practitioners and physiotherapists of the current and potential roles of the pharmacist within a chronic pain care team. The three professions' views on factors which could influence chronic pain management were also determined. Sixty-three GPs (63 per cent), 59 community pharmacists (59 per cent) and 33 physiotherapists (66 per cent) responded. None of the pharmacists was currently involved in chronic pain management, but 58 (98 per cent) wanted to develop such a role, especially within pain clinics. Pharmacists and physiotherapists were more likely than GPs to identify that limited opportunity for personal involvement and expertise within a pain team reduced the likelihood of achieving optimal chronic pain management. Only 17 of the GPs had an established multidisciplinary pain care team; two of these had pharmacist involvement. All GPs and physiotherapists agreed that pharmacists had an important role to play in chronic pain management, particularly in the provision of drug information to patients and medication review.