Scott Glaser, MD, DABIPP, an interventional pain management physician with Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago, gave a presentation titled "Interventional Pain Management—New Concepts to Reduce ER Visits, Hospitalizations and Re-Admissions" at the 9th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago on June 10, 2011. Dr. Glaser spoke about reducing the cost of episodes of care by searching for cost savings and shared risk.
Lower back pain is currently a common reason for ER visits, and many of these patients need to see spine specialists instead. In most communities, there isn't a tradition of coordinated care between spine surgeons and interventional pain management physicians, meaning patients often receive different treatment depending on which specialist they see first. It can be confusing for patients navigating back pain treatment options on their own, especially with the proliferation of alternative specialists, such as chiropractors and acupuncturists.
There are some physicians and non-physicians without the appropriate training who have over utilized interventional pain management procedures with bad outcomes, which recently created a backlash against the specialty. Experienced interventional pain management physicians are sometimes met with skepticism from their patients and peers because of these negative experiences. The American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians currently provides certification for physicians in interventional pain management and medication management.
An additional problem back pain patients face is a dependence on opioids, which can led to addition, ER visits and death. When patients come to interventional pain management physicians already addicted to opioids, it's difficult to treat them with good outcomes. Monitoring patient use of opioids, educating them about interventional pain management options and tailoring treatment to each individual patient will be important heading into the future.
Related Articles on Interventional Pain Management:
Kansas Nurse Gets 3 Years for Helping to Divert Opioids
Pain Academy Responds to Death of Soldiers on Pain Medication
Prescription Pain Killers Cost up to 13 Times More on Street
Lower back pain is currently a common reason for ER visits, and many of these patients need to see spine specialists instead. In most communities, there isn't a tradition of coordinated care between spine surgeons and interventional pain management physicians, meaning patients often receive different treatment depending on which specialist they see first. It can be confusing for patients navigating back pain treatment options on their own, especially with the proliferation of alternative specialists, such as chiropractors and acupuncturists.
There are some physicians and non-physicians without the appropriate training who have over utilized interventional pain management procedures with bad outcomes, which recently created a backlash against the specialty. Experienced interventional pain management physicians are sometimes met with skepticism from their patients and peers because of these negative experiences. The American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians currently provides certification for physicians in interventional pain management and medication management.
An additional problem back pain patients face is a dependence on opioids, which can led to addition, ER visits and death. When patients come to interventional pain management physicians already addicted to opioids, it's difficult to treat them with good outcomes. Monitoring patient use of opioids, educating them about interventional pain management options and tailoring treatment to each individual patient will be important heading into the future.
Related Articles on Interventional Pain Management:
Kansas Nurse Gets 3 Years for Helping to Divert Opioids
Pain Academy Responds to Death of Soldiers on Pain Medication
Prescription Pain Killers Cost up to 13 Times More on Street