4 Points on Medication Management for Back Pain

Jeffrey Wasserman, MD, a pain management physician with Pinnacle Pain Management in Dallas, discusses the role of pain management physicians in managing medication for back pain patients.

1. Simplifying medications. Physicians sometimes prescribe several medications to reduce pain that interact adversely. Pain management physicians can assist in medication management by making essential changes to improve efficacy. "If we can simplify or change the patient's regimen of pain medications, or switch medications to be more specific for a given type of pain, we often get better results," says Dr. Wasserman. "Additionally, if surgery isn't an option but the patient still has chronic pain, pain management physicians might prescribe long-acting opiates or use advanced pain therapies including spinal cord stimulation or implanted pumps."

2. Reducing overdose. Some patients with back pain abuse their prescriptions medications or divert them for profit or to assist family members or friends. "Experienced pain physicians are more likely to identify abuse and diversion and can reduce this risk to the individual and society." Patient questionnaires, review of pharmacy and clinic medication logs and urine toxicology tests are additional methods we employ to confirm patients use their medications appropriately, says Dr. Wasserman.

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