All Articles on Chronic Pain

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  It’s time to pay attention to chronic pain

  So says a new national pain strategy from the Department of Health and Human Services. You can influence the strategy with your comments.
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  Opioids for chronic pain: Finding hope in advocacy and research

  In our first blog post by a patient, Dave Duhrkoop shares his experience with chronic pain and opioid medications—highlighting the role advocacy and research play in improving care and outcomes.
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute announces two awards to Group Health

  Group Health has been approved for two research awards from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study ways to improve care for back pain and to connect patients with community resources. The projects are part of a portfolio of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research that addresses PCORI’s National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda. Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, PCORI is an independent nonprofit dedicated to funding comparative clinical effectiveness research.
• Opioid-prescribing safety: Finding real-world solutions for a nationwide epidemic

  Fatal overdoses involving prescribed opioids quadrupled from 1999 to 2009, climbing to almost 16,000 U.S. deaths annually—more than cocaine and heroin overdoses combined. What wasn’t clear was how to combat this growing threat.
• Yoga eases back pain in largest U.S. yoga study to date

  Yoga classes were linked to better back-related function and diminished symptoms from chronic low back pain in the largest U.S. randomized controlled trial of yoga to date.
• Group Health establishes major initiative to prevent opioid abuse and overdose

  A report in the August 2011 issue of Health Affairs describes a major initiative at Group Health to make opioid prescribing safer while improving care for patients with chronic pain. Health Affairs is the nation’s premier health policy journal, and its August issue focuses on substance abuse.
• A learning health care system mobilizes to improve opioid prescribing safety

  Guided by research and monitoring patients, Group Health’s new initiative for safer opioid prescribing has produced stunning results in just nine months. Claire Trescott, MD, medical director of primary care, leads this innovative effort to protect patient safety at Group Health—and nationwide.