National Spine & Pain Centers Hosts Third Annual Interventional Pain Management Conference: The Business of Pain

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On the weekend of September 15 – 17, National Spine & Pain Centers hosted its third annual business focused pain management conference entitled The Business of Pain Medicine: 21st Century Challenges & Solutions. Under the leadership of Peter Staats, M.D., Les Zuckerman, M.D., Sanjay Bakshi, M.D., and Sudhir Diwan, M.D., experts in pain management were brought in to speak across a breadth of business and clinically-related issues integral to the safe and cost-effective delivery of pain management care.

Chronic pain impacts an estimated 112 million Americans and is the nation's number one cause of long-term disability. According to a study by the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies, chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Unfortunately, opioid use, misuse, and abuse has risen sharply since the 1990s. Between 1999 and 2005, the incidence of all opioid-related deaths tripled in the US. In 2016, US opiate-related deaths exceeded 64,000. While synthetic fentanyl and heroin are the largest contributors to further escalations in the death toll, an estimated 14,400 were from prescription opiates.

This year's conference brought together some of the nation's preeminent clinical and administrative leaders in Interventional Pain Management (IPM) to discuss alternatives to opiate therapy and expensive, often ineffective spine surgery. Topics included quality patient care and measuring outcomes, patient safety and experience, and innovative treatment solutions such as neuromodulation, which provide lasting relief to chronic pain patients.

Chief Medical Officer of National Spine & Pain Centers, Dr. Peter Staats, states how "uncontrolled pain, and the opioid epidemic are arguably the two greatest health care crises affecting Americans today. The Business of Pain Conference is the premier educational venue assisting physicians, employers and payers alike, to develop fiscally responsible strategies to provide optimal care to patients with pain but to also avoid the devastation that irresponsible opiate utilization can create."

Over 300 attendees traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in this unique conference. Throughout the course of the weekend, in-depth discussions revolved around the challenging economic, regulatory, legal and business climate facing IPM. The national opioid crisis was at the forefront of most discussions.

"The overarching goal of Interventional Pain Management is to relieve pain, maximize function and improve quality of life through minimally invasive treatment solutions. We do remain steadfast that when determined appropriate by your treatment team, opioid medications amongst a host of many available adjunct tools in a multimodal approach, can more effectively and comprehensively treat pain," says Dr. Douglas Wisor, President of National Spine & Pain Centers.

This year's keynote speaker was Alison Levine, Team Captain of the First American Women's Everest Expedition & Author of the New York Times Bestseller "On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Everest and Other Extreme Environments." Alison spoke to attendees about the significance of leadership and asserted that the principles which apply to the world of extreme adventure also apply to demanding clinical and business environments.

About National Spine & Pain Centers

National Spine & Pain Centers (NSPC) is the nation's leading network of pain management practices with over 65 pain physicians on staff at more than 60 locations in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC and West Virginia. Many NSPC physicians are among the most respected pain practitioners in the world.

Contact:

Manju Regmi
P: 301-881-7246 ext: 10163   
11921 Rockville Pike #505
Rockville, MD 20852
http://www.treatingpain.com/  
[email protected]

SOURCE National Spine & Pain Centers