| Article
We just want to remind clinicians that it's an interdisciplinary approach that's going to help people the most, especially when you're weaning people off of medications. If the opiates have been the primary tool that they've used to manage their pain and you're taking that away, you need to give...
| Article
There is not very great evidence in terms of what the outcomes are for long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain. That's not to say that it's good or bad. But the question is how do we prescribe opioids, how do we do it safely, and when patients express interest in tapering their opioids...
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Dr. Date works at a county hospital in San Mateo, California, where opioids are just one of the tools in the pain management toolbox.
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The value of topical analgesics as a safe and effective treatment alternative to opioids and prescription NSAIDs for chronic pain management has been confirmed in a new study led by PAINWeek faculty member Jeffrey Gudin, MD, director of pain and palliative care, Englewood Hospital, New Jersey. Dr...
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Virtual reality (VR) has been in the treatment armamentarium for some decades, but the technology has been cost-prohibitive for many practitioners. Dr. Jones outlines some recent advances that are changing the cost/benefit landscape, and discusses recent clinical evidence for VR in pain management...
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In addition to other shortcomings, current prescribing guidelines are particularly ill-suited to the needs and challenges of patients already on opioid therapy. Drs. Heit and Gourlay discuss the roots of the problem and the role of primary care as talented amateurs in addiction medicine.
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Can opioids be rationally prescribed for chronic pain? Dr. Stacey considers some of the components of getting there, including strengths and limitations in the current CDC guidelines, the practice of tapering; elements of patient assessment, red flags to watch for, and the proper role of opioids in...
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Successful treatment of chronic pain means going beyond the pharmacologic options to embrace self-care, psychological and psychosocial factors, functional restoration, and alternative medicine. Dr. Pohl provides an exploration, and outlines some ideas for primary practitioners to engage.
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Although recent CDC guidelines have focused on opioids for chronic pain management, little attention has gone to the perioperative setting as a potential contributor to the prescription drug crisis. Dr. Bottros gives his perspective on opioids and other alternatives for postoperative pain.
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The recently released CDC prescribing guidelines and recommendations from the National Pain Strategy refer to pain psychology as on the critical path to the management of pain. Drs. Mackey and Darnall discuss this role and what needs to be done to bring this treatment modality within the reach of...