This is the role of pharmacists in pain medicine – an interview with Jeffrey Fudin, PharmD.

Dr. Lynn Webster: Hello, this is Dr. Lynn Webster. Thank you for listening to this Pain Topics series of interviews on lynnwebstermd.com. Today, I’m fortunate to have with us Dr. Jeffrey Fudin.

Thank you, Jeffrey, for participating,today, in our Pain Topics interview on lynnwebster.com. I hope you’ve had a good day.

Dr. Jeffrey Fudin: Yes, I have. Thank you for inviting me.

Dr. Webster: Let’s get right to the first question. The healthcare system, as you know, is evolving. It has for the last 10 to 50 years.

Pharmacists, though, are playing a larger clinical role in many parts of the country. I find that to be a good thing. What do you see the role is for a pharmacist today in the field of pain medicine? Are there other niches for pharmacists, or what do you see as the primary role today in the field of pain medicine, certainly your area of expertise?

Dr. Fudin: I think that the field of pain medicine for pharmacists is actually exceedingly exciting, and for pharmacists, it’s actually a new specialty area.

A lot of people don’t see the behind the scenes things that pharmacists are involved in. For example, pharmacists are very, very much involved in the hospital setting, behind the scenes, helping physicians and working on teams to prepare special medications that are individualized therapy for certain patients that are not necessarily commercially available.

Pharmacists go on rounds with physicians in the hospital. In the ambulatory care setting, there’s some huge burgeoning role for pharmacists to be involved in pain management. In fact, one of the huge things for pharmacists now is that Congress is considering a bill to make pharmacists providers, so they can actually work side by side with physicians in various clinics.

In that capacity, pharmacists have been involved in helping to screen patients, to monitor various blood parameters, to teach the patients, and work with their families, and also to assess them for various risks for different kind of medications, not only opioids, but anti‑inflammatories, maybe skeleto- muscle relaxants, and various other issues that come up with combining these drugs together.

Dr. Webster: Jeffrey, I was in clinical practice for some 30 years, and I always felt that the pharmacist was my partner. The pharmacist was also my protector, because they would often point out to me where there might be a drug/drug interaction, or some potential danger, or where I may have made an error in writing my prescription so you’re saying that they’re evolving into becoming more of a partner. In my life, they’ve always been my partner.

Dr. Fudin: That’s great to hear.

Dr. Webster: Thank you Dr. Fudin, and thanks again for all of the listeners today to this Pain Topics interview on lynnwebstermd.com. If you aren’t already, please follow me on Twitter @LynnRwebstermd. Also stay tuned to my blog for more information about my book, which by the way was released September 1st.

You can go to Amazon or any of your bookstores to order the book, “The Painful Truth.” The documentary with the same title will be released this fall. Have a great day.

Learn more about Dr. Jeffrey Fudin at paindr.com

Learn more about Dr. Webster’s book and documentary at thepainfultruthbook.com