By Jordan Churchill, Director of Operations
SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?
The blame for the emergence of the opioid epidemic falls on many shoulders, but there are those that are taking a stand against the rising tide. Comprehensive pain management physician specialists are needed now more than ever to take the reins in caring for these challenging patients, and fighting to ensure that they avoid becoming just another statistic. A major challenge is that many patients, as well as many physicians, don’t know what comprehensive pain management doctors even do!
Pain management has evolved significantly over the past decade, and a wave of technological and innovative advances are pushing the boundaries of what is possible to treat acute, and more critically, chronic pain. No longer is the field dominated by medicine management and the occasional steroid injection. Instead of a last resort, pain management is becoming an earlier step in typical treatment. Minimally invasive procedures and non-opioid adjunct medications have revolutionized the way pain is viewed and treated. Like most fields of medicine in the past quarter-century, pain has undergone a renaissance of sorts, and highly skilled physicians are entering the specialty and changing the game.
The titanic challenge of the opioid crisis requires a well-rounded and progressive approach. Board Certified Interventional Pain Management Physicians like Lindsey Job, M.D., Peter Fernandez, M.D. and Lindsay Shroyer, M.D. of Restore Medical Partners in Venice and Sarasota, FL are working towards a paradigm shift in the field; shifting focus to targeted interventional therapies (x-ray guided injections, ablations, etc) and incorporating integrative medicine and physical therapy. Accurate diagnosis and treatment with guided procedures can allow patients to undergo physical therapy, setting them on a road to recovery, and most often, off of addictive opioid medications. With support from their medical teams, Physicians like these are helping to turn the tide in their communities, managing medications appropriately, catching pain early (before patients have become dependent on narcotic medications), and more importantly educating the public on their dangers.
Living with chronic pain can be a truly devastating experience for anyone. And the numbers certainly are scary. But there is a way forward; a responsible and effective way to practice pain management. The public need to know that there are options beyond dangerous opiates, and that you don’t have to live in pain due to fear of being treated with narcotic medications. Only with the correct approach can chronic pain, and the opioid epidemic with it, be contained and resolved. Only with the leadership of these innovative pain management mavericks can we combat this crisis head-on, and save the lives of thousands along the way.
Jordan Churchill is a UK-born medical practice executive, and Director of Operations for Restore
Medical Partners. He is an active member of the Venice Young Professionals and has become well known in Venice area medical circles. His background includes medical strategic management, office surgery development, and business operations.
RESTORE Medical Partners
333 S Tamiami Trail #101
Venice, FL 34285
941-375-3006
www.restoremedicalpartners.com