Can Opioids Be Rationally Prescribed for Chronic Pain?

As we acknowledge the recent increases in deaths and other negative outcomes associated with chronic opioid use, abuse, and overdose, we as clinicians are faced with very important questions: Can opioids be rationally prescribed for chronic pain? For whom? How? For how long? Recent CDC guidelines...

CRPS and New Developments: Fibromyalgia and Diabetic Neuropathy

This session will explore an interdisciplinary team approach for the treatment of pain and autonomic dysfunction and will look closely at chronic pain as a biopsychosocial disease. A pharmacotherapy guide for CRPS will be reviewed, along with a comparison of FM and MPS and treatments for diabetic...

The Patient Centered Medical Home

This interactive course will instruct participants in how to begin implementation of an outpatient functional restoration program for chronic pain, ie, intensive integrated coaching for self-care for wellness. The model will be the Atlanta VA Health System's Empower Veterans Program (EVP). EVP help...

Nonpharmacologic Methods to Relieve and Manage Pain and Anxiety

Pain is a common presenting complaint to emergency departments and EMS, and painful procedures are often necessary. Most EDs do not have child life specialists, psychologists, or other resources to assist patients in pain or during procedures. The majority of emergency care providers (physicians...

Dysmenorrhea: Unlocking the Secrets of Chronic Menstrual Pain

Painful menstruation, or dysmenorrhea, is the most common gynecological pain condition, affecting 45% to 95% of menstruating women. In spite of its prevalence, it is often ignored and poorly treated because many healthcare providers and patients may consider pain a normal part of the menstrual cycle...

Linking into Social Media for Pain Practitioners - Part 1

Social media presents many opportunities for pain practitioners to keep up with the pulse of what is happening in pain practice and pain policy. Thought leaders share valuable information via social media, and social media is one way patients obtain and share information about pain. This session...

Decreasing and Managing Pain Patient Aberrant Behavior

Practitioners routinely wrestle with the issue of medication aberrant behavior (MAB)--What should I do about this? Should I discharge the patient? Will I get in trouble if I don't discharge this patient? Often there is no one right answer, and practitioners struggle with what to do in the face of a...

Clinical Conundrum: Catch-22

We will discuss the difficulties in diagnosing and treating a patient with a significant neurological entity who develops a "Catch-22." This Catch-22 may prevent appropriate testing and therefore impede finding the correct diagnosis and treatment. (Recorded at PAINWeek 2016)

A Primer for Chronic Pain Management and Substance Abuse Disorders

The field of pain management has undergone a circuitous adventure, much like a rabbit hole. As the economic, mental health, and medical consequences of prescribing opioid medications have mounted, the prevailing logic regarding the usefulness of prescribing opioids for chronic pain has shifted. The...

The Five Coping Skills That Every Patient Needs

This session will teach participants the 5 core pain coping skills that all pain patients need: understanding, believing, calming, balancing, and coping. By knowing these skills providers will have a better idea of how they can plan treatment and intervene with patients more effectively...