Effect of pharmacist education and intervention on ketorolac prescribing in an emergency department.

Background: Pharmacists serve many important roles within the emergency department (ED) and frequently provide education on medications to clinicians and patients. Following a study that demonstrated a potential "analgesic ceiling" effect with ketorolac and suggested that doses lower than 30 mg IV may be effective, we implemented a reduced‐dose ketorolac pathway in our institution's ED. Aim: To assess the impact pharmacist education and on‐shift, active interventions had on ED clinicians' IV ketorolac prescribing habits. Method: This was a retrospective, quasi‐experimental study conducted to evaluate the effect of a brief pharmacist‐led educational email intervention on ketorolac prescribing habits within an ED at a large, academic medical center. All orders of IV ketorolac for adult patients in the ED 180 days prior to and following the educational email were included in the analysis. Results: Prior to the educational effort, 30 mg IV doses of ketorolac were most frequently ordered (n = 1772). However, following the educational effort, significantly fewer orders were for the 30 mg dose (n = 718) and the majority of orders were for 15 mg IV (n = 2081; p < 0.00001), consistent with the teaching from the intervention. Conclusion: In this study, a significant prescribing practice change was facilitated by pharmacist‐led email education supported by on‐shift active guidance for clinicians by pharmacists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]