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Providers who do not understand medical necessity for drug testing, controlled medication prescribing, and substance abuse treatment are at risk as payers increasingly scrutinize these areas. Attorney Jennifer Bolen outlines some "pearls and pitfalls" for clinicians. Watch for important tools you...
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Up to 40% of patients who undero spinal surgery for lower back pain will develop postlaminectomy syndrome, or failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Dr. Josihi outlines the pathology, causes, diagnosis, and treatment options that primary care should know about.
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Dr. Cheatle reviews some medication and non-medication treatment options for addressing substance use disorder. The message to primary care: a multimodal approach works best, and treatment of the SUD without attention to management of the patient's underlying pain is the likely route to relapse.
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Patients with chronic pain and substance use disorders often have accompanying psychiatric and medical disorders that place them at elevated risk for suicide. Dr. Cheatle, a professor of psychiatry, discusses the epidemiology of suicidal ideation in this population and offers some guidance in...
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In this discussion, senior faculty members Heit and Gourlay reflect on some of the challenges resulting from the recent "decade of pain". Both the overuse of opioids and the solutions that have been proposed in response have led to changes in how we diagnose and treat this patient population...
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Emerging research shows that chronic pain produces a substantial biological burden, including cellular aging and systemic biological wear and tear. But the body also possesses resilience factors, and bolstering these may prevent or reverse the burden of pain. Drs. Bartley and Sibille explore in this...
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Emerging research shows that chronic pain produces a substantial biological burden, including cellular aging and systemic biological wear and tear. But the body also possesses resilience factors, and bolstering these may prevent or reverse the burden of pain. Drs. Bartley and Sibille explore in this...
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This week is National Burn Awareness Week and, in observation, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) issued a press release summarizing the recent advances in treatment that can help burn victims regain a better quality of life following injury. The ASPS cites statistics showing that over...
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I think the resources are not there for us to continue to use the interdisciplinary teams as much as we want to. It's difficult for us sometimes to try to get the interdisciplinary pain program authorized, for example, in an industrial medicine setting. There's been many studies that support the use...
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The risk for opioid dependency among opioid-naïve cancer patients who took the medication following lung surgery, is highlighted in new research presented earlier this week at the annual meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Lead author Alexander Brescia, MD, commented, “Surgeons are at the...