Presenter: Bill Walter, ND

Original Date: September 24, 2016

Chronic pain is a complex multi-factorial condition that leads to significant infirmity and disability in our society. Given the multiple layers of complexity with pain, no one practitioner will be able to address all of a patient's needs. This lecture is designed to help the integrative clinician think through the layers of challenges a patient with pain may be facing, which practitioners are likely best to help them, and how to organize this team for your patients.

We begin with an overview of the diagnostic challenge of pain - without a clear understanding of the mechanism of a patient's pain, it is incredible difficult to choose the appropriate therapies. We then review common assessment tools that may be used in an office setting, and how to interpret them. We discuss the different practitioners you may choose to bring into your patient's team, their scopes of practice, and how best to organize an interdisciplinary treatment protocol. Also discussed are some challenges involved in bringing multiple clinicians into the same practice.

1.5 Pain Management CEUs approved by OBNM