It is no secret that the United States has an opioid problem right now. Because of this, the medical community is charged with the task of figuring out how to help patients manage their pain, without risking drug overuse and addiction. Over the next five to 10 years, the “landscape of pain management will continue to evolve,” something we are seeing based on initiatives headed by these three organizations:
Thanks in part to the efforts of these facilitators, we expect to see pain management as we know it now shift in a major way. One of the biggest takeaways from these initiatives is a commitment to using “team-based care models that emphasize patient-centered, multidisciplinary, and coordinated care for patients with high impact pain.” Right now, there are numerous gaps in care which have resulted in a wide range of substance abuse disorders for people all across the United States. We are in the middle of developing new and comprehensive strategies that will address these problem areas head-on.
As a leading pain management clinic, Texas Partners Healthcare Group strives to help our patients find relief from common conditions through alternative therapies and solutions. From injections, radiofrequency, nerve blocks, and other non-invasive procedures, we have helped countless patients address both acute and chronic pain concerns. We are strong advocates for this shift in pain management and will do everything we can to support our patients in the most beneficial way possible. Opioids are not always the answer and we are hopeful about the future of pain management based on the initiatives mentioned above.
One of the biggest takeaways from these new efforts is that patient assessment “will evolve beyond the singular focus on the “pain score” to become more multimodal, with attention to qualitative and experiential domains. In addition, technological advances will digitize the assessment process, extending the monitoring of patient experiences outside the brick-and-mortar locale of the clinic into the realm of digital biometric devices.”
With more than 100 million Americans living with long-term pain, it is no wonder the go-to treatment for physicians has been prescription opioids. This is the case even though there is evidence that opioids do not work for long-term pain, as they do not address the root problem, but rather mask the symptoms a person is experiencing. Furthermore, Americans are prescribed more opioids than any other country in the world. We are in the middle of a prescribing epidemic that has resulted in an opioid crisis that includes misuse, overdose, and death. The bottom line? Opioids should never be the first solution doctors turn to. While they work for short-term pain relief, other treatments like physical therapy, acupuncture, talk therapy, and injections are proven to be far more effective long-term.
To learn more about our approach to acute and chronic pain management, please contact Texas Partners Healthcare Group today. Your health matters to us. As the premier pain management clinic in Frisco, we are dedicated to being your partner through whatever condition it is that is causing you pain.