Pain Medicine and Pain Management

Biography

Biography: Teneshia Spencer

Abstract

Multimodal analgesia offers a patient-specific, balanced approach to treating acute pain, such as that caused by broken bones, surgery, and childbirth. The approach combines two or more pain-relieving treatments or techniques – acting through different mechanisms – to provide better pain relief using fewer opioids. With multimodal analgesia, a patient may receive some combination of IV acetaminophen (in hospital settings), antidepressants, steroids, nerve blocks, epidurals or prescription-strength forms of anti-inflammatory drugs. The approach can also include local injections of analgesia. Integrated Care for Chronic Pain: Similarly, patients who experience chronic pain – such as low back pain, migraine headache or fibromyalgia – can also benefit from a comprehensive approach to pain management. According to studies “Opioids can be effective,” “but they are hardly the only treatment strategy that should be considered.” Physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as psychosocial treatments to address the emotional and social effects of pain, can complement the use of medication – including over-the-counter, prescription non-opioid and opioid treatments. Access Barriers & Policy Solutions: Balanced pain management can help clinicians move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to pain management, which sometimes favors an opioid-only approach despite patients’ unique needs. One driver behind that approach may be health insurance and hospital formularies that favor low-cost treatments such as generic opioids. Another cause, the paper argues, is health coverage that steers patients toward the lowest-cost treatment through techniques such as step therapy. Despite the upfront expense, a balanced approach can lower care costs over the long term by better managing pain and reducing opioid-related adverse events. With updated formularies, improved insurance coverage and more education, patients and their healthcare providers can achieve better pain management. The approach can also aid national efforts to curb the opioid abuse epidemic. Safe Use & Disposal: Finally, no conversation about pain management is complete without discussing the safe use and disposal of pain medications. This white oral report acknowledges the importance of safe prescribing, comprehensive labeling, and safeguards such as medicine cabinet inventories, safe storage and responsible disposable of unused drugs.