Thursday, November 4, 2021, 7:55 AM – 5:05 PM, Online, Online, WA

Chronic pain is a common, complex, and challenging condition, where understanding the biological, social, physical and psychological contexts is vital to successful outcomes in primary care. Chronic musculoskeletal pain is one of the most intractable clinical problems faced by clinicians and patients and is both amplified and perpetuated by psychological and socially traumatic events. Among current health and social traumas, the current COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated long-standing difficulties accessing already scarce multidisciplinary pain care, threatening vulnerable communities and socially isolating and economically disrupting the lives of our patients with chronic pain.

The 14th Annual John D. Loeser Pain Conference will focus on the practical approaches to management of common painful musculoskeletal conditions, the impact of chronic illness and a pandemic on chronic pain management and how to support patients chronic pain care regimens utilizing virtual technologies, updates on opioid prescribing rules, guidelines and best practices including new rules for prescribing opioids for older adults, and what how to manage buprenorphine for chronic pain and understanding the role cannabinoids may play in pain treatment.

1. Differentiate peripheral and centrally generated pains.
2. Select focus on diagnosis and treatment of common musculoskeletal conditions in a primary care setting.
3. Recognize features of physical therapy/exercise programs best able to work with patients with pain conditions.
4. Explain to a patient the three basic patterns of joint pain and the purpose of diagnostic testing.
5. Outline novel COVID-19 pain syndromes and maintenance of existing chronic pain treatment regimens in an era of stress.
6. Discuss use of telemedicine technologies for pain for patient education, exercise and mindfulness training.
7. Outline a process to address difficult patient interactions with mindfulness, empathy and compassion.
8. Describe clinical implications of 2021 BREE opioid prescribing guidelines for older adults.
9. Develop a detailed plan including ways to trouble shoot the transition from full agonist opioid to buprenorphine.
10. Determine whether or not a patient on long-term opioid treatment should be weaned from opioids and how to formulate the necessary documentation.
11. Formulate answers to common patient questions about cannabinoids including how to counsel patients to seek informed advice when shopping for over-the-counter products.