| Article
Conclusions from new research conducted by a team from University of West Virginia School of Pharmacy and colleagues may help to inform prescribers’ decision making about the engagement of opioid therapy for noncancer pain. In seeking to better understand the risk factors for transitioning to long...
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Is naloxone the silver bullet? Well maybe the silver bullet du jour. I think the biggest challenges with respect to naloxone are the educational hurdles because unlike the EpiPen, naloxone is intended to be administered by someone else not the patient. So that means that the burden of determining an...
| Podcast
This session will explore some of the challenges resulting from the recent “Decade of Pain.” Clearly, the overuse of opioids and, to some extent, the solutions proposed to curtail the misuse of prescription drugs has led to a shift in how we diagnose and how we treat substance use disorders in this...
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Conclusions from a study of almost 6,000 individuals over a 24-year span suggest that chronic inflammation experienced in middle age may be associated with greater incidence of frailty and poorer overall health in later life. The research team, led by investigators from Johns Hopkins Medicine...
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The hot topic with respect to practitioner groups is there seems to be a lot of denouncing of the fact that there’s too much opioid use and everyone is looking for ideas to minimize these opioids. But one of the top suggestions that people will consider is maybe nonopioid and nonpharmacologic...
| Article
There is a tremendous interplay between sleep and pain and stress and function, adrenal glands, fatigue and healing. We're not as aware of the sleep issues as we need to be. All of our pain patients, with rare exception, have some issue with sleep. When we have pain, pain will wake us up when we...
| Podcast
2016 was not a good year to be on the wrong side of medical necessity when it came to drug testing and ongoing prescribing of controlled medication or substance abuse treatment programs. 2017 is likely to be an expensive year for those who do not proactively take steps to understand medical...
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New policies and training invoked by Navy Medicine, providing medical services to sailors, Marines, and family members, are designed to strike a balance between ensuring safe use of opioids and preserving access to them for the treatment of chronic pain. Patients in the care of Navy Medicine will...
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The cost of healthcare of course is a concern. The insurance companies are in the business of providing insurance and healthcare professionals and patients are seeking out quality care. There’s an inherent conflict there because unfortunately pain is a complex biopsychosocial problem. It really does...