Chronic Pain - Compounding Chemist

Chronic Pain And How Compounding Chemist Bondi Can Help

Need help managing Chronic Pain? Spend 45 minutes with our pharmacist FREE of charge

Pain is the most common reason that people seek medical help, yet it remains one of the most neglected and misunderstood areas of healthcare. 1 in 5 Australians lives with chronic pain and this rises to 1 in 3 people over the age of 65.

Chronic pain is Australia’s third most costly health burden. More than 50% of people with chronic pain are under-treated.

There is often a lack of access to appropriate advice and support on chronic pain in the community, and it is difficult for patients to access effective treatment that is timely and affordable. Community pharmacists see patients on a regular basis without the need for an appointment. As such, pharmacists are ideally placed to provide a patient-based solutions to support people who are suffering from chronic pain.

At Fresh Therapeutics we have been chosen to participate in a new Trial evaluating a Chronic Pain MedsCheck service. The primary objective of this Trial is to determine if this service is able to prevent the incorrect use and/ or overuse of pain medication, increase your  pain medication health literacy, improve your ability to self-manage  chronic pain and improve your overall quality of life.

To be eligible to participate in the trial you must:

  • be taking medication (prescription or over the counter) for chronic pain for three months or greater, and
  • be aged 18 years or over
  • a holder of a valid Medicare and/or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) card
  • be living at home in a community setting
  • have not received a MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Review (HMR) or Chronic Pain MedsCheck in the previous 12 months in the recruiting pharmacy, and
  • not be a current client of a recognised Pain Management Service.

If you consent to participate in the trial, you will be required to attend two in-pharmacy consultations at an agreed date and time.

Each consultation with your pharmacist will involve them asking you questions to learn more about the type of chronic pain you are living with, the medications you are taking to help manage the chronic pain and other activities which increase or decrease the pain. This will always be done in a private consultation room with your pharmacist.

Your pharmacist who has undergone specific training for this service will enter your answers into the pharmacy computer, and a score will be generated by each answer which will then be used by your pharmacist to identify the impact chronic pain is having on your life. This will help us provide you with the most suitable education, information and/or referrals.

Specifically at the initial consultation (which is expected to take about 45 minutes), the pharmacist will review the medications you are currently taking to manage the pain and may suggest some changes. We will also work with you to develop an action plan to help you better manage the chronic pain.

Six weeks after the initial consultation you will be telephoned for a follow up interview by phone. This is expected to takeabout 30 minutes.

Three months after your initial consultation there will be another consultation in the pharmacy that is expected to take30 minutes.  Here we will review your action plan and modify any aspects of the plan that aren’t working for you. Your pharmacist will also ask you some questions to understand whether any of their suggestions have helped you better manage the chronic pain.

If the chronic pain score shows that your pain is considered severe, your pharmacist will provide you with a referral to your GP for further investigation. If you do not have a regular GP, we can help organise an appointment for you with a local GP.

If you are suffering from Chronic Pain and would like to participate in this Trial please call us on 92 816 816 and we will make an appointment.