Search Results for: "chronic back pain management"

Migraine is a chronic condition that affects about 15% of the population in the United States and is characterized by recurrent, debilitating headache that lasts somewhere between 4 and 72 hours. Only 1 performance measure for migraine is currently in use in pay-for-performance programs. Although the American College of Physicians (ACP) broadly supports the role of performance measurement in performance improvement, this support is based on the principle that only measures that are evidence-based and meet high standards of methodological soundness are appropriate given their potential impact on patient care. ACP’s Performance Measurement Committee reviews performance measures using a rigorous process to recognize high-quality performance measures, address gaps and areas for improvement in performance measures, and help reduce reporting burden. This article presents a review of 1 performance measure that includes migraine and considers a potential core performance measure using ACP’s process to inform physicians, payers, and policymakers.

Interventions to Improve Advance Care Planning Documentation in the Electronic Health Record: A Cluster Randomized Trial: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 179, No 1

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) can improve communication of patients’ preferences but is underutilized in health systems. Objective: To compare approaches to increase ACP. Design: Pragmatic, 24-month, comparative, cluster randomized trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04012749) Setting: Fifty clinics in 3 University of California health systems. Participants: All seriously ill primary care patients without an advance directive (AD) or a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form in the electronic health record (EHR). Intervention: Three ACP interventions, timed to primary care visits. The group 1 intervention included a letter with an AD sent via the EHR portal and mail. The interventions in groups 2 and 3 additionally included a link to PrepareForYourCare.org and a mailed pamphlet, and the group 3 intervention also included health navigator outreach. Clinicians received ACP training. Measurements: Presence of AD or POLST form in the EHR at 12 and 24 months (primary outcome); documented ACP discussions and utilization (secondary outcomes). Results: Among 5810 seriously ill patients (mean age, 71 years; 48% female; 50% in a racial or ethnic minority), by 24 months, 13.7% (95% CI, 12.1% to 15.3%) of patients in group 1, 12.7% (CI, 11.2% to 14.1%) in group 2, and 19.8% (CI, 18.1% to 21.5%) in group 3 had a documented AD or POLST form. After adjustment for patient and site factors, group 3 patients were more likely to have an AD or a POLST form compared with group 1 (adjusted difference [aDiff], 4.6% [CI, 0.8% to 8.4%]) and group 2 (aDiff, 5.5% [CI, 0.8% to 10.2%]); groups 1 and 2 did not differ significantly. Documented ACP discussions were higher in group 3 than group 1 (aDiff, 4.7% [CI, 1.4% to 7.9%]) and group 2 (aDiff, 4.2% [CI, 1.1% to 7.2%]); groups 1 and 2 did not differ. Utilization did not differ by group. Limitations: Academic health centers; no control group. Conclusion: Health system implementation of automated ACP interventions with clinician training and mailed materials increases ACP documentation and is enhanced with navigator outreach. Primary Funding Source: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Menopause

This review focuses on the diagnosis and management of menopause, highlighting both hormonal and nonhormonal treatment options. In particular, the article focuses on recent data on the risks and benefits of hormone therapy to help clinicians better counsel their patients about decision making with regard to understanding and treating menopause symptoms.

Palliative Care

Palliative care prioritizes symptom management and quality of life throughout the course of serious illness. Regardless of whether care is inpatient or outpatient, primary or subspecialty, a solid understanding of the basics of effective communication, symptom management, and end-of-life care is crucial. This article reviews these essentials and provides an overview of current evidence to support patient-centered palliative care.

Annals for Educators - 18 April 2017

Uninformed Consent

Missed Directives

A Primary Care–Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Long-Term Opioid Users With Chronic Pain: A Randomized Pragmatic Trial: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 175, No 1

Background: Chronic pain is common, disabling, and costly. Few clinical trials have examined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions embedded in primary care settings to improve chronic pain among those receiving long-term opioid therapy. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a group-based CBT intervention for chronic pain. Design: Pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02113592) Setting: Kaiser Permanente health care systems in Georgia, Hawaii, and the Northwest. Participants: Adults (aged ≥18 years) with mixed chronic pain conditions receiving long-term opioid therapy. Intervention: A CBT intervention teaching pain self-management skills in 12 weekly, 90-minute groups delivered by an interdisciplinary team (behaviorist, nurse, physical therapist, and pharmacist) versus usual care. Measurements: Self-reported pain impact (primary outcome, as measured by the PEGS scale [pain intensity and interference with enjoyment of life, general activity, and sleep]) was assessed quarterly over 12 months. Pain-related disability, satisfaction with care, and opioid and benzodiazepine use based on electronic health care data were secondary outcomes. Results: A total of 850 patients participated, representing 106 clusters of primary care providers (mean age, 60.3 years; 67.4% women); 816 (96.0%) completed follow-up assessments. Intervention patients sustained larger reductions on all self-reported outcomes from baseline to 12-month follow-up; the change in PEGS score was −0.434 point (95% CI, −0.690 to −0.178 point) for pain impact, and the change in pain-related disability was −0.060 point (CI, −0.084 to −0.035 point). At 6 months, intervention patients reported higher satisfaction with primary care (difference, 0.230 point [CI, 0.053 to 0.406 point]) and pain services (difference, 0.336 point [CI, 0.129 to 0.543 point]). Benzodiazepine use decreased more in the intervention group (absolute risk difference, −0.055 [CI, −0.099 to −0.011]), but opioid use did not differ significantly between groups. Limitation: The inclusion of only patients with insurance in large integrated health care systems limited generalizability, and the clinical effect of change in scores is unclear. Conclusion: Primary care–based CBT, using frontline clinicians, produced modest but sustained reductions in measures of pain and pain-related disability compared with usual care but did not reduce use of opioid medication. Primary Funding Source: National Institutes of Health.

Previous See more results in Annals of Internal Medicine

Clinical Information Search