Articles on Pain
The American Medical Association Takes on the CDC Opioid Guidelines
The new recommendation offered by the AMA holds to a long-held belief by many physicians with expertise in pain and addiction medicine that patients with a current, or a history of an, opioid use disorder should receive effective pain care, including opioid therapy, when clinically indicated and in consideration of known risks and benefits.
Read MorePersonalized Pain Medicine
Below is an edited excerpt from a chapter titled, Pharmacogenetics and Personalized Medicine in Pain Management, that Inna Belfer, MD PhD and I published in Clinics in Laboratory Medicine, Volume 36, Issue 3, September 2016. Personalized Pain Medicine Pharmacogenetic therapy in people with pain requires consideration of 2 different genetic substrates to determine the outcome…
Read MoreNPR – Patients Seek Out Alternatives to Opioids in Treatment of Chronic Pain
Opioids are often considered mandatory for treatment of chronic pain, but many patients would prefer an alternative. Doctors say those alternatives may also work better in some cases. Link to NPR All Things Considered
Read MorePain is a vital sign
Near the end of May, the New York Medical Society brought forward a resolution for the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates to consider. The focus of Resolution 707 is the 2001 Joint Commission standard to assess pain as the fifth vital sign. The drafters of the resolution claim that this standard has led…
Read MoreDEA Inflicts Harm on Chronic Pain Patients
In an effort to curb opioid drug abuse and addiction, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued new rules that limit the accessibility of hydrocodone, putting chronic pain sufferers who rely on the drug in an impossible situation. The DEA’s new restrictions come after the decision to relabel hydrocodone as a Schedule II drug, making…
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