[FOR EMBARGOED RELEASE Wednesday, April 7]
Contact: Martin Cheatle, 215-893-7254 (clinic office); 215-746-7365 (research office)
Pain Management in the Primary Care Setting: An Opportunity for Behavioral Medicine
SEATTLE, WA - Chronic pain is becoming a public health crisis. Over 50 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain with many of these individuals experiencing significant physical, behavioral and psychological comorbidities. The majority of these patients are followed by primary care practitioners who typically have limited time to manage these complex cases. A symposium being presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Seattle this week examines the opportunity for the integration of behaviorally based pain practices into primary care.
The field of behavioral medicine is based on the biopsychosocial model that integrates behavioral, psychosocial and biomedical techniques in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of medical disorders. While behavioral medicine interventions have been demonstrated as effective in the chronic pain population, the incorporation of these principles in the primary care setting has not been fully realized.
Three topical areas will be reviewed. Dennis Turk, PhD, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Research at the University of Washington, School of Medicine in Seattle will present “Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Perils of the Patient Uniformity Myth” based on his extensive work in this area.
Robert Kerns, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology at Yale University and National Program Director for Pain Management for the Department of Veterans Affairs will highlight the work being conducted for the veterans in his presentation “Implementation of a stepped care approach to pain care in the VA”.
Martin Cheatle, PhD, Director of Pain and Chemical Dependency Research at the Center for Studies of Addiction, University of Pennsylvania will review a model for treating complex patients with chronic pain and addiction in his presentation “A primary care, integrated disease management program for patients with chronic pain and co-occurring mood and substance use disorders”.
Francis J. Keefe, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and current President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine will discuss the future of behavioral medicine in the delivery of integrated care for patients with chronic pain.
The Society of Behavioral Medicine is a multidisciplinary organization of clinicians, educators and scientists dedicated to promoting the study of the interactions of behavior with biology and the environment and the application of that knowledge to improve the health and well being of individuals, families, communities and populations.
www.sbm.org
Editor’s notes:
This study was presented during the 2010 Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) from April 7-10 in Seattle, Washington. However, it does not necessarily reflect the policies or the opinion of the SBM.
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