chronic pain
How Has CDC Opioid Guideline Affected You?
Pain News Network is now conducting a survey with the intent of finding out how the CDC guideline is affecting both providers and patients.
Read MorePrevalence of Chronic Pain Increasing
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on February 22, 2019. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid prescribing quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. Some policymakers suggest that the amount prescribed in 1999 was appropriate and should remain static, and that any prescribing above the 1999 level exceeds the amount required to meet the needs of…
Read MoreAre Most Retired NFL Players Really Addicts?
We can probably attribute the use or misuse of opioids to the fact that these retired football players were trying to mitigate severe pain.
Read MoreInnovations in Healthcare
Innovations in healthcare such as Virtual Reality Neuropsychological Therapy (VRNT) and dozens of other technologies bring hope to pain patients.
Read MoreAmerican Society of Anesthesiologists Oppose Oregon’s Opioid Prescribing Proposal
Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force’s Proposal I previously posted a letter written by Dr. Sean Mackey that discusses the problem with the Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force’s proposal that would leave many Medicaid patients without adequate pain therapy. The proposal would force providers to lower, or eliminate, the use of opioids despite the benefits patients…
Read MoreOregon Chronic Pain Task Force Revised Proposal Regarding Opioids
A Painful Proposal Unfortunately, according to the Portland Business Journal, the scaled-back Oregon opioid proposal has moved closer to reality. The Task Force has taken a very harsh position for prescribing opioids to control pain in the Medicaid population. Potentially, the proposal could hurt 1 million Oregonians who are in that position. Response to Oregon…
Read MoreJournalists Jacob Sullum and Pat Anson Report on Two Important Topics
Medicare Rule Will Create New Challenges for Chronic Pain Patients Jacob Sullum recently wrote an article, “Medicare Rule Will Create New Challenges for Chronic Pain Patients,” for Practical Pain Management about the ways in which the pending Medicare changes will adversely affect chronic pain patients. As he explains, the new Medicare rule is intended to…
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 MoreHealth Professionals Call on the CDC to Address Misapplication of Its Guideline
Stefan G. Kertesz, MD Pens a Letter to the CDC Health Professionals Call on the CDC to Address Misapplication of Its Guideline on Opioids for Chronic Pain through Public Clarification and Impact Evaluation by Health Professionals for People in Pain is a letter that I recently had the privilege of signing. (Click here to see…
Read MoreDetecting the Liar
Discerning Lies Can Be Challenging According to Scientific American Mind, lying “is among the most sophisticated accomplishments of the human mind.” It requires cognitive skills that children are not born with and must acquire. Our ability to lie seems to improve until we reach young adulthood, and then it levels off. Once we reach about…
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