Team-Based Medicine: Incorporating a Clinical Pharmacist into Pain and Opioid Practice Management.

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that death from opioids has increased by more than five times since 1999. In response, federal and state organizations have released guidelines recommending best practice standards to combat the opioid epidemic.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a clinical pharmacist in a team-based care model on the adherence to best practice standards and access to care for management of patients prescribed chronic opioid therapy (COT).

Process improvement for a complex dual medical procedure.

Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy followed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is accepted worldwide as a treatment for a large, symptomatic, obstructing pancreatic stones. However, timely completion of the combined process requires coordination of equipment and personnel from two different complex procedures. We used Lean management tools in a week-long event to redesign the process around the patient.