Now is the time for acute pain medicine specialists

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Since September is Pain Awareness Month, it’s time to recognize that not all pain is equal. Chronic pain can be alleviated, but “acute” pain (sudden onset, brief in duration, often with an identifiable cause) must be eliminated. This requires a systems-based approach led by physicians dedicated to understanding the physiological processes associated with acute pain and investigating new ways to treat it. The solution is definitely not to give patients more and more opioids. As our understanding of pain mechanisms has evolved, some physicians have developed a special focus on pain medicine in the acute injury, illness and perioperative settings that has led to the rapid advance of interventions to effectively manage this type of pain. Acute pain medicine involves the routine use of multiple therapies at the same time (i.e., multimodal analgesia) in the hospital  to reduce the intensity of acute pain and minimize the development of debilitating chronic pain, a problem that can result from even common surgical procedures or trauma. Unfortunately, the need for specialists in acute pain medicine is increasing. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Conditions Pain management Source Type: blogs