RCHC Community Project Abstracts

Optimizing Care of Chronic Pain Patients in a Rural Primary Care Clinic
Date of project: 8/3/2009

Treatment of chronic pain can present one of the most challenging scenarios in medicine – both for clinicians and patients alike. Managing constant prescription refill requests and sometimes frustrated patients can be taxing on clinic staff and providers, while communicating the subjective experience of pain can be emotional for patients whose pain may often go untreated or under-treated due to historical sensitivity about prescribing narcotic medications. Further complicating this delicate relationship between patient and clinic is the increasing prevalence of prescription drug diversion and abuse, particularly among American youth. This project investigated current trends in the management of chronic pain at the clinic and community level, gathering information from medical literature, local clinic staff, surveys of chronic pain patients, and interviews with key community role players. A summary of recommendations was developed to assist local providers in optimizing the care they provide to patients with chronic pain.

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