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Recent press coverage highlights the work of congressional representatives and key opinion leaders to impact insurance carrier policy with respect to nonopioid and abuse deterrent opioid treatment alternatives for pain. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) recently sent a letter to the CEOs of UnitedHealth...
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Last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the creation of a new task force to develop recommendations for acute and chronic pain management and to advance best practices for pain medication prescribing. Other government agencies involved in the initiative include the...
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Interprofessional education is critically important, and accrediting organizations of schools of pharmacy, nursing, medicine, social work, and so forth, I have recognized this. So there's a move afoot to incorporate interprofessional education in all of our professional curricula. It's critically...
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“New Therapeutic Targets for Osteoarthritis Pain” is the title of a review examining emerging therapies and potential future treatment directions for osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Authored by David Walsh, Professor, and Joanne Stocks, Translational Research Facilitator, with the Arthritis Research UK...
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The 2016 CDC guidelines on opioid prescribing have been faulted in some quarters for a lack of scientific basis, and an article earlier this week discusses a recent study of the federal review process used in their development. Led by past PAINWeek faculty member Daniel Carr, MD, MA, professor of...
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Concern over opioid abuse is amplifying interest in opioid induced hyperalgesia among governing bodies and payor organizations. Dr. Harden discusses the current state of the science surrounding OIH, including terminology, technology/methodology, and existing evidence. Additionally, he offers some...
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New research from Rush University, Chicago suggests that spousal criticism or dismissal, either real or perceived, may exacerbate the intensity of chronic low back pain, especially among women and those with depressive symptoms. Further, the association can be self-reinforcing, with spousal...
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Many clinicians still haven't heard about the concept of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment or POLST. Some states call it POST or MOST. But they all basically mean the same thing. What we're trying to do is get patients to play an active role in the decision-making about their future...
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While seeking to uncover evidence of racial disparities in the treatment of migraine, researchers at University of Michigan Medical School documented an entirely different problem: overuse of opioids as migraine therapy across all racial groups. Based on the knowledge that African-Americans are at...
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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.