the consultant pharmacist and analgesic/anti-inflammatory drug usage in a geriatric long-term facility

The contribution of a consultant pharmacist to a 33-month study of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug usage by 210 elderly long-term patients was evaluated by a fifth-year pharmacy student. In the 143 patients who used analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents, significant changes were noted, viz, decreased use of codeine (p = .002); increased use of acetaminophen (p = .003) and anti-inflammatory agents (p = .020); increased regular scheduling of aspirin and acetaminophen; and an overall decrease in total drug usage from 7.2 to 4.8 drugs per patient. No effect was noted on the number of analgesics per patient, and the percentage of aspirin or propoxyphene or acetaminophen combinations used. A protocol was established for pain therapy, including a system of stop orders for propoxyphene and codeine.