|  he
articles in this issue were selected to demonstrate
to the anesthesiology community the new concepts
salient in pain medicine today. As in any new movement,
political or philosophical, diverse ideas prevail.
But to ignore the tide of change is to be swept
away in the current. The departments and private
practices that have embraced the developing field
of pain medicine have now established thriving divisions.
Those who have ignored the field, or practiced in
outmoded ways, are left behind in the competition.
It has been interesting for me to note that, in
some cities, private practitioners take the lead,
and the academic practices are woefully inadequate
with nonsolvent pain divisions that do not offer
the latest therapies and have difficulty recruiting
any, much less enthusiastic, fellows and staff.
In other similarly sized cities, academic pain practices
have grown from a minimal service to divisions serving
thousands upon thousands of patients a year, and
the private practitioners face much harder competition.
The ASA Committee on Pain Medicine has brainstormed
ideas for this NEWSLETTER, and we hope
that the diversity and excitement of pain medicine
will be reflected in this issue.
“As in any new
movement, political or philosophical, diverse ideas
prevail. But to ignore the tide of change is to
be swept away in the current.”
The articles in this issue range from the discussion
of practical concerns in combining an anesthesiology
operating room practice with a pain practice. Mazin
Al Tamimi, M.D., a former neurosurgeon, describes
why he personally wanted to train in pain medicine
and, as such, also reflects the face of anesthesiology’s
future (page
6).
In “Pain Medicine and Anesthesiology: Oil and
Water? Or Do They Mix?” (page
7), somewhat different but complementary
views by James P. Rathmell, M.D., and Timothy R. Deer,
M.D., are presented.
Exciting new research directions in pain are discussed
by James C. Eisenach, M.D., on page
10.
A futuristic perspective is presented by Scott M.
Fishman, M.D., of a time when pain medicine might
follow the example of emergency medicine in establishing
its own independent curriculum and training (page
12).
In this context, Douglas G. Merrill, M.D., discusses
on page
14 what ASA is doing and has done
to help pain medicine physicians receive proper reimbursement
for their services.
We hope you enjoy this issue and find it enlightening
and challenging.
| |
|
Doris K. Cope, M.D., is Director, University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Pain Medicine
Program, and Professor of Anesthesiology, UPMC,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
|
|