The Consultant pharmacist : the journal of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
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Identify and categorize recommendations made by a consultant pharmacist in a neurology clinic, and document patient satisfaction with consultations provided by the pharmacist. ⋯ Pharmacist involvement in a neurology clinic increases patient-pharmacist contact time and patient understanding regarding medications. The pharmacist offers numerous recommendations to health care providers, potentially improving the patient's pharmacotherapy.
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Opioid medications are commonly used to treat moderate-to-severe pain. While these medications are generally an effective means of pain control, they can, in rare cases, actually exacerbate the pain. This paradoxical reaction is called opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). Patients experiencing OIH may benefit from decreasing or discontinuing the opioid, switching to an alternative opioid, and/or using a nonopioid medication for pain.
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To determine the ability of a community pharmacist to reduce the annual drug expenditures for Medicare Part D enrollees. ⋯ Pharmacists can use the Medicare.gov Web site to assist Medicare Part D plan enrollees in reducing their out-of-pocket annual expenditures.
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Methadone is an opioid analgesic that is also commonly used to prevent opioid-withdrawal symptoms in patients undergoing treatment for opioid addiction. The prescribing of methadone for pain management has been under scrutiny because of a high incidence of deaths associated with its use. However, many practitioners find methadone offers numerous benefits, including dosing options and duration of analgesia. Methadone may still have a place in pain management when practitioners are adequately educated about methadone's pharmacologic properties, dosing, and monitoring considerations.
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Off-label use of medication is common and can lead to innovations in the use of medicine to treat patients in unconventional ways. However, issues of increased health care costs, decreased reimbursement, and lack of clinical data to support off-label use, are concerns of practitioners and patients alike. By using their knowledge of medications and carefully examining the existing research, pharmacists can aid prescribers in appropriate off-label medication use.