Challenging Issues in Chronic Pain Management

Program Overview

Chronic pain represents an important management challenge for many family physicians. From integrating chronic pain assessment into daily practice to optimizing treatment plans, especially in the context of comorbid disease, practitioners encounter obstacles to providing optimal pain relief for their patients. In Challenging Issues in Chronic Pain Management, the third activity in our chronic pain series, Dr Penny Tenzer and Dr Dawn Marcus provide practical strategies to address pain management issues commonly faced in family practice, including fitting chronic pain management into the time constraints of an office visit and minimizing staff burnout.

Intended Audience

This continuing medical education program is intended for family practitioners and other healthcare professionals who manage pain management.

Learning Objectives

1. Address challenges often faced in the management of chronic pain
2. Integrate chronic pain assessment into daily practice
3. Utilize a variety of treatment options to more effectively manage pain in their patients
4. Manage chronic pain in the context of other common co-morbid disorders
5. Apply strategies to reduce staff burnout

Faculty

Studio Faculty

Dawn A. Marcus, MD
Professor
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Pittsburgh, PA

Penny Tenzer, MD
Vice Chair, Director of the Residency Program
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Chief of Service for Family Medicine
University of Miami Hospital
Miami, FL

Planning Committee

Accreditation

Physician Accreditation:

"This activity has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 1.50 Prescribed credits by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Of these credits, .50 conforms to the AAFP criteria for evidence-based CME clinical content. CME credit has been increased to reflect 2 for 1 credit for only the EB CME portion. AAFP accreditation begins 11-1-08. Term of approval is for two years from this date with option for yearly renewal. When reporting AAFP credit, report total Prescribed credits earned for this activity. It is not necessary to label credit as evidence-based CME for reporting purposes.

The EB CME credit awarded for this activity was based on practice recommendations that were the most current with the strongest level of evidence available at the time this activity was approved. Since some clinical research is ongoing, the American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that learners verify sources and review these and other recommendations prior to implementation into practice."

"The AAFP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide "The AAFP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians."

"The American Academy of Family Physicians designates this education activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity."

Agenda

Introduction and opening remarks
Module 1: Streamlining the Assessment of Chronic Pain Patients
Module 2: Management of Chronic Pain in the Context of Co-Morbid Disease
Module 3: Treatment Recommendations and Considerations
Module 4: Staff and Physician Burnout
Closing remarks

Disclosures:

It is the policy of the AAFP that all CME planning committee, faculty, authors, editors, and staff disclose relationships with commercial entities upon nomination/invitation of participation. Disclosure documents are reviewed for potential conflict of interests and, if identified, they are resolved prior to confirmation of participation. Only these participants who have no conflict of interest or who agree to an identified resolution process prior to their participation were involved in this CME activity.

The AAFP and MedEd Architects staffs have indicated that they have no relationships to disclose relating to the subject matter of the activity. Drs. Skolnik, Kirchner, Marcus, and Tenzer have returned a disclosure form indicating that she/he have no financial interest in or affiliation with any commercial supporter or providers of any commercial services discussed in this educational material.

CME Credit

Physician Accreditation: "The American Academy of Family Physicians designates this education activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity."