A variety of on-demand health videos featuring a guided meditation and other educational videos are also available to help make pain and stress management accessible to patients.
How to Start the Opioid Conversation
Ms. Wimmer shares the following tips for rheumatologists to talk openly with patients about alternatives to opioids for managing their chronic pain.
1. Share the evidence: “Studies show that non-opioid treatments or complementary alternative treatments, like exercise and meditation, may be as effective for patients suffering from chronic pain, by providing relief or lessening the severity of their pain,” she says. “Making patients aware of all treatment options is essential to their comprehensive care.”5
2. Give patients concrete alternative strategies: Rheumatologists can actively promote alternative pain management options in their practice, Ms. Wimmer suggests.
Example: One social worker in her program shared a story in which one of her patients went to an appointment and came out with a prescription to go swimming and the number of the local YMCA. Rather than simply suggesting they should try yoga or swimming, rheumatologists can provide a list of nearby yoga studios or local community centers that offer these programs, Ms. Wimmer advises.
3. Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team: The HSS Pain & Stress Management Program is a collaboration between health education coordinators, certified yoga instructors and licensed clinical social workers. Often, patients are referred to the program by clinicians and physicians after the patient finishes physical therapy or if the patient is looking for additional opportunities to educate themselves about their condition.
“Having professionals from a variety of areas working together helps to thoroughly assess and address all aspects of the patient’s care,” says Ms. Wimmer.
Carina Stanton is a freelance science journalist based in Denver.
References
- Hudson TJ, Edlund MJ, Steffick DE, et al. Epidemiology of regular prescribed opioid use: Results from a national, population-based survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2008 Sep;36(3):280–288. Epub 2008 Jul 10.2.
- Chou R, Turner JA, Devine EB, et al. The effectiveness and risks of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain: A systematic review for a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Feb 17;162(4):276–286.
- Frieden TR, Houry D. Reducing the risks of relief—the CDC opioid-prescribing guideline. N Engl J Med. 2016 Apr 21;374(16):1501–1504.
- Wimmer M, Wiesel R, Adams B, et al. Complementary practices as alternatives to pain: Effectiveness of a pain management program for patients in an orthopedic clinic [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018 Oct;70(suppl 10).
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, et al. Pain management and the opioid epidemic: Balancing societal and individual benefits and risks of prescription opioid use. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. 2017 Jul.
