• T Tran, S E Taylor, A Hardidge, D Findakly, P Aminian, and R A Elliott.
• Pharmacy Department, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
• J Clin Pharm Ther. 2017 Oct 1; 42 (5): 567-572.

What Is Known And ObjectivesOverprescribing of oxycodone is a contributor to the epidemic of prescription opioid misuse and deaths. Practice models to optimize oxycodone prescribing and supply need to be evaluated. We explored the impact of pharmacist-assisted discharge prescribing and medication review on oxycodone prescribing and supply for patients discharged from surgical wards.MethodsA retrospective audit was conducted on two surgical inpatient wards following a 16-week prospective pre- and post-intervention study. During the pre-intervention period, discharge prescriptions were prepared by hospital doctors and then reviewed by a ward pharmacist (WP) before being dispensed. Post-intervention, prescriptions were prepared by a project pharmacist in consultation with hospital doctors and then reviewed by a WP and dispensed.Main Endpoints Were The FollowingProportion of patients who were prescribed, and proportion supplied, oxycodone on discharge; Median amount (milligrams) of oxycodone prescribed and supplied, for patients who were prescribed and supplied at least one oxycodone-containing preparation, respectively.ResultsA total of 320 and 341 patients were evaluated pre- and post-intervention, respectively. Pre-intervention, 75.6% of patients were prescribed oxycodone; after WP review, 60.3% were supplied oxycodone (P<.01); the median amount both prescribed and supplied was 100 milligrams/patient. Post-intervention, 68.6% of patients were prescribed oxycodone; after WP review, 57.8% were supplied oxycodone (P<.01); median amount prescribed and supplied was 50 milligrams/patient (difference in amount prescribed and supplied: 50 milligrams, P<.01).What Is New And ConclusionWP review of doctor-prepared prescriptions reduced the proportion of patients who were supplied oxycodone but not the amount supplied/patient. Having a pharmacist assist with prescribing reduced the amount of oxycodone supplied.© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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