Скачать или смотреть Dr. R. Norman Harden Discusses Clinical Efficiency

R. Norman Harden, MD, Associate Professor, Northwestern University Pain Management and Rehabilitation, Director, Center for Pain Studies Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Pain Management and Rehabilitation, Chicago, IL, discusses the methods that can be used to improve clinical efficiency when managing chronic pain.

The most efficient thing for physicians to do when treating chronic pain is to have a proper diagnosis before treating the patient. Dr. Harden says a major problem in today's medical systems is the lack of time a physician has with the patient. Most HMOs give doctors fourteen minutes for a new patient and four minutes with a follow-up patient.

A detailed history and physical examination is needed for a physician to learn what the mechanism of disease is. Dr. Harden stresses the importance of first understanding the path of physiology rather than prescribing opioids first simply because they treat various kinds of pain.