Multispecialty Opioid Risk Reduction Program Targeting Chronic Pain and Addiction Management in Veterans
A primary care pain clinic and telehealth program manages veterans at high-risk for noncancer chronic pain and addiction, offering education and support to multidisciplinary health care providers to reduce dependence on high-level opioids.
Federal Practitioner. 2019 September;36(9)a:406-411
Ivana Vaughn is a Research Scientist at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City. Rebecca Beyth is the Associate Director for Clinical Innovation at the North Florida/ South Georgia Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. Ted Gingrich is a Clinic Chief, Anesthesia Pain Medicine; and Stephen Mudra is Chief, Primary Care Pain Management; both at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida. Mary Lynn Ayers is a VISN 19 Lead Physician Primary Care and a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver. Joseph Thornton is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Ted Gingrich is a Courtesy Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, and Rebecca Beyth is a Professor of Medicine, all at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville. Mary Lynn Ayers is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus. Rajiv Tandon is a Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Western Michigan University School of Medicine.
Author disclosures The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.
Conclusion
Successful integration of primary care with mental health and addiction services is paramount to aggressively taper patients with chronic pain from opioids. There is evidence that drug dependence and chronic pain should be treated like other chronic illness.20 Both chronic pain and addiction can be treated with a multidimensional self-management approach. In view of the high incidence of mental health and addiction associated with opioid use, it makes sense that an integrated, 1-stop pain and addiction clinic that understands and addresses both issues is more likely to improve patient outcomes.
Acknowledgments
This material is the result of work supported by the resources and facilities at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center in Gainesville, Florida.
