Maltese pharmacy graduate Danika Agius Decelis was recently presented with the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists-European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association Best Research Paper Award for her study on the role of pharmacists in the management of pain following heart surgery. The award was presented during the 19th EAHP congress in Barcelona.
Agius Decelis’s paper draws on research she undertook as part of her Master of Pharmacy degree. Her study shows that pharmacists’ intervention to advise patients on the use of analgesics and the preparation of medication charts to help patients follow the intake of the analgesics as prescribed, resulted in better pain management for the patients.
The study was carried out under the supervision of Dr Maurice Zarb Adami from the University’s Pharmacy Department in collaboration with Mr Joseph Galea from the Department of Surgery.