A case report of a terminally ill patient who achieved good pain control by pharmaceutical intervention in home terminal care

We provided consultations with pharmacists to a terminally ill patient with radicular pain at his home. Before pharmaceutical intervention, the patient's compliance had been poor and consequently he had not achieved stable pain. The pharmacists suggested changes in the pharmacological and physical regimen that satisfied both the patient and his family. These changes were instructed with the help of the patient's doctors, home-visiting nurses and family, and subsequently the patient's compliance improved. The patient achieved good pain control and maintained excellent quality of life up to the time of his death. By providing home consultations to a terminally ill patient, we have contributed to maintaining an acceptable quality of life for him by building a team that consisted of doctors, nurses and pharmacists.