Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Pain Management for January 2018. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Regulators Trying to Reduce Physician Burden Linked to EHR
MONDAY, Jan. 29, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is trying to address some of the issues relating to physician electronic health record (EHR) burden, partly with the appointment of Don Rucker, M.D., who is skilled in informatics and board-certified in emergency and internal medicine, according to an article published in Medical Economics.
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Weight Loss Among Obese Tied to Improvements in Chronic Pain
MONDAY, Jan. 29, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For obese individuals with chronic pain, a weight loss intervention is associated with improvements in the spatial distribution of pain and comorbid somatic symptoms, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of Pain.
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Health Care Spending Up, Mainly Due to Rising Prices
MONDAY, Jan. 29, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Americans under age 65 years who were insured through their employer spent more than ever before on health care in 2016, with faster spending growth in 2016 than in recent years, according to the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI)'s annual Health Care Cost and Utilization Report.
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Prescribing of Opioids Adds to Patient Satisfaction With Care
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with musculoskeletal conditions who are using prescribed opioids are more likely to be highly satisfied with their care, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Out-of-Pocket Expenditures Down With ACA Implementation
TUESDAY, Jan. 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was associated with reduced out-of-pocket spending, although increases were noted in mean premium spending, according to a study published online Jan. 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Walmart Launches Disposal Solution for Opioids, Rx Meds
MONDAY, Jan. 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Walmart is launching a first-of-its-kind opioid disposal solution in all company pharmacies, which is available at no cost, according to a press release from the company.
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Brochure Can Improve Opioid Disposal Rates After Surgery
FRIDAY, Jan. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Disseminating an educational brochure improves disposal of unused opioids after surgery, according to a study published online Jan. 10 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
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Longer Duration of Post-Op Opioid Use Associated With Misuse
THURSDAY, Jan. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Each refill and week of opioid prescription following surgery is associated with an increasing risk of opioid misuse among opioid naive patients, according to a study published online Jan. 17 in The BMJ.
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Professionals Disagree About Asking Patients About Sexuality
THURSDAY, Jan. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- National Health Service (NHS) England recently recommended that professionals ask all patients their sexual orientation at every opportunity, although opinions are divided on whether this is appropriate, according to an article published online Jan. 17 in The BMJ.
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Tamper-Resistant Oxycodone Misused Less Often in Australia
FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The tamper-resistant formulation of controlled-release oxycodone in Australia reduced tampering among high-risk populations, according to a study published online Jan. 10 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
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AMA Online Tools Address Systems-Level Physician Burnout
THURSDAY, Jan. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Tools and resources have been developed to help address physician burnout at the systems level, which may affect more than half of doctors, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Core Muscle Weakness Increases Spinal Loading, Back Injuries
THURSDAY, Jan. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In the presence of complete deep core muscle weakness, there is an increase in peak anterior shear loading on all lumbar vertebrae during running, according to a study published in the Jan. 23 issue of the Journal of Biomechanics.
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Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy Linked to Language Delay
THURSDAY, Jan. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Acetaminophen (acetyl-para-aminophenol [APAP]) use in pregnancy is associated with language delay among girls, according to a study published online Jan. 10 in European Psychiatry.
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Economic Impact of Physicians Quantified for 2015
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians have a large economic impact across the nation, creating an aggregate of $2.3 trillion of economic activity and supporting employment of nearly 12.6 million Americans, according to a report published by the American Medical Association.
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Provider Counseling of Exercise for Arthritis Patients Improved
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For adults with arthritis, there was an increase in the age-adjusted prevalence of reporting health care provider counseling for exercise from 2002 to 2014, according to research published in the Jan. 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire Helps to Evaluate Migraine Pain
MONDAY, Jan. 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) successfully demonstrates the extent of debility in migraine surgery patients and puts migraine pain in perspective within the realm of other known pain conditions, according to a study published in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
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Physicians Frequently Continue to Work While Ill
FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Many physicians continue working and caring for patients while they are sick, according to an article published in Medical Economics.
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Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Opioid Prescriptions
FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Among disabled Medicare beneficiaries, county-level socioeconomic factors are associated with opioid prescriptions, with more prescriptions seen with lower socioeconomic indicators, according to a study published in the January issue of Medical Care.
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For Hospitals, No Benefit for Early Adoption of Financial Incentives
FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals that volunteered to be under financial incentives for more than a decade as part of the Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (early adopters) do not have better process scores or lower mortality than hospitals where these incentives were implemented later under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program (late adopters), according to a study published online Jan. 4 in The BMJ.
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Certain Stresses, Burnout Causing Some Women to Leave Medicine
THURSDAY, Jan. 4, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Though equal numbers of men and women are now entering medical schools, the majority of physicians are still male, and female physicians face several unique stressors, according to a report published online in Medical Economics.
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Improvement Needed in Ob-Gyn Opioid Prescribing Practices
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Improvement in obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge and prescribing practices regarding opioids is needed, according to a study published online Dec. 4 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Higher Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Some Physicians
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) appears to be high for at-risk physicians, according to a review published online Dec. 27 in JAMA Surgery.
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Increase Seen in Gabapentinoid Use From 2002 to 2015
TUESDAY, Jan. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- From 2002 to 2015 there was a substantial increase in gabapentinoid use, according to a research letter published online Jan. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Laser Improves QOL for Breast Telangiectasia Due to Radiation
TUESDAY, Jan. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Laser monotherapy improves health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in female patients with radiation-induced breast telangiectasias (RIBT), according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
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