From Confrontation to Collaboration: Collegial Accountability and the Expanding Role of Pharmacists in the Management of Chronic Pain

Abstract:     
The war on drugs has created an environment where both physicians and pharmacists are afraid to aggressively manage pain - which, for many patients, means horrific unrelieved suffering. Although the policy-on-paper, as the author calls it, regarding controlled substances has eased, the policy-in-practice has not, and physicians and pharmacists are still fearful of prosecution or other disciplinary action. As a solution, the author proposes and discusses in detail collaborative drug therapy management for chronic pain.

Accepted Paper Series