When It Hurts: NPs and PAs Play an Essential Role in Pain Management

STAMFORD, CT, October 23, 2010 (Press-News.org) As the US population ages, pain will become a fact of life for more and more Americans each year. Among the many causes of pain, osteoarthritis alone places a huge burden on the healthcare system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 27 million people in the United States have osteoarthritis, accounting for $185 billion in healthcare spending last year.

TREATING PAIN ISSUES ON THEIR OWN
In August 2010, Practicing Clinicians Exchange conducted a survey of NPs and PAs assessing their role in pain management, knowledge and competence in this field, and interest in pain education. The results of the survey may surprise those who hadn't realized the scope and breadth of an NP or PA practice.

Nearly 40% of all NP and PA respondents treat more than 20 patients each month for pain related to headache, arthritis, and low back pain. Nearly 60% of NPs and PAs surveyed perform an initial evaluation on their own for patients presenting with pain, without a collaborating physician.

PRESCRIBING PATTERNS FOR PAIN
What may be most surprising is the percentage of NPs and PAs that prescribe opioid and nonopioid analgesics for their patients. Nearly 80% of respondents have prescribing authority for opiates and more than 75% recommend them for pain control, with 43% recommending them without a collaborating physician. More than 80% recommend and prescribe nonopioid analgesics on their own. Most NPs and PAs also devise long-term treatment plans for their patients with chronic pain.

NPs AND PAS CITE THE NEED FOR MORE EDUCATION ON PAIN MANAGEMENT
Despite the fact that NPs and PAs are heavily involved in their patients' pain management, they fail to receive current education on pain. Of those surveyed, 64% had not attended a CME presentation on pain management in the past year; however, their educational interests in this area span from fibromyalgia and cancer pain to postherpetic neuralgia and peripheral diabetic neuropathy. The education gap for pain management must be closed in order for these clinicians to continue providing quality patient care.

Practicing Clinicians Exchange surveys its database about the role of NPs and PAs in disease management and educational practice gaps in a broad range of disease states and therapeutic areas.

This news brief is brought to you by Practicing Clinicians Exchange, the national leader in education exclusively for nurse practitioners and physician assistants. For more information on our national initiatives, visit http://www.practicingclinicians.com.

For information on supporting PCE educational activities please contact:

Eric VanStone
Vice President, CME Programming
c 203.258.5515
f 203.487.0406
evanstone@practicingclinicians.com

Patrick Ruddy
Director, CME Programming
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pruddy@practicingclinicians.com

Practicing Clinicians Exchange (PCE) is an innovative national education initative designed specifically for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). PCE's premier series of live, national CE/CME symposia and other educational activities revolve around the challenges NPs and PAs face most often in clinical practice.