Considerations with Opioids and Pain Management—A Surgeon’s Perspective

Dr. Sue Sgambati, COPIC’s medical director and a colorectal surgeon, joins Dr. Zacharias to talk about her personal experience in balancing the professional responsibility to treat pain with concerns over opioid addiction. Dr. Sgambati reviews the historical background of key factors that contributed to the overprescribing of opioids and what she saw and learned in her own practice. She then talks about the value of using tools such as a state’s prescription drug monitoring program, opioid risk assessment tools, and guidelines published by organizations such as the CDC. Dr. Sgambati also addresses alternatives to opioids that are being used, the challenges of having conversations with patients about opioids and how to document these, and the availability of naloxone to counter overdoses.

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