Pharmacy Students’ Perspectives on Pain Patients

Karen F. Marlowe, PharmD, BCPS

Associate Professor
Harrison School of Pharmacy
Auburn University
Auburn, AL

Only a small percentage of chronic pain patients receiving appropriate opioid treatment will become addicted to the medications. In fact, in their patients treated with opioids, healthcare providers are much more likely to face noncompliant behavior than frank addiction. A study presented at PAINWeek 2010 in Las Vegas, NV demonstrated that the attitudes of pharmacy students regarding prescription opioids are influenced more by their prior experience than by classroom education. In this study, 50%-70% of participants felt that opioids are “highly addictive,” a result also observed in retail pharmacists. In another study, 67.5% of pharmacists reported participating in ≤ 2 hours of addiction/substance abuse education in pharmacy school, and 29.2% reported having received no education on these topics. The curricula of pharmacy education programs must be modified to give future pharmacists a better understanding of pain management and the nature of addiction.

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