Evaluation of treatment changes following electronic consultation to a pharmacist-run urine drug testing service in a veterans healthcare system.

Evaluation of treatment changes following electronic consultation to a pharmacist-run urine drug testing service in a veterans healthcare system. J Opioid Manag. 2016 Nov/Dec;12(6):389-395 Authors: Stammet MM, Spradley SS Abstract In 2013, the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Healthcare System established a pharmacist-run urine drug testing (UDT) electronic consultation (e-consult) service to assist providers with interpretation of this useful yet complex clinical tool. This pilot study aimed to classify clinical treatment changes implemented following e-consult to a pharmacist-run UDT service and analyze factors limiting pharmacist intervention postconsultation. One hundred forty-three e-consults were completed in the 2-year study period including interpretation of 190 UDT results classified as expected, unexpected, or not necessarily inappropriate based on prescription profile at time of urine immunoassay test. Preconsult evaluation revealed that in more than 70 percent of cases, no confirmatory testing was ordered on the sample in question by the requesting provider. Of the 28 percent of UDT results classified as unexpected, 32 percent identified the presence of an illicit substance. Completed e-consults provided either education-based (informative) or actionbased (decisive) recommendations. In 50 percent of the cases where unexpected substances were identified, pharmacy specialists recommended immediate action to be taken by ...
Source: Journal of Opioid Management - Category: Addiction Tags: J Opioid Manag Source Type: research