Podcast | Practice of Medicine | September 21, 2021

Evidence-Based Approaches to Pain Management

Pain is often referred to as the fifth vital sign and in this podcast, Drs. Philip Hartman and Christopher Morris use an evidence-based approach to discuss different modalities of acute and chronic pain management. They also provide insight into the changing approach to opioid prescribing as well as touch upon the preliminary data and the need for additional research surrounding cannabinoid-based products. At the conclusion of this activity, the attendee should be able to:

  1. Discuss the current literature and evidence regarding pain management.
  2. Identify various pain management modalities.
  3. Recognize the changing approach to opioid prescribing.
  4. Further review and assess his/her own prescribing habits.
Earn CME Credit

Philip Hartman, MD
Originally from Southwest Ohio, Dr. Philip Hartman received his bachelors of science in Biology at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia and returned to the Cincinnati area for medical school at the University Of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  After medical school, he became a board certified Family Physician through training with St Elizabeth Healthcare of Northern Kentucky. He practices broad-based, integrative family medicine in an outpatient setting for infants through the elderly, performing numerous procedures, acupuncture for the treatment of pain and traditional Western medicine for other chronic disease states and ailments such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and drug addiction. He is passionate about providing for his patients’ needs with high quality, evidence-based care.

He regularly teaches medical students from his own alma mater as well as the University of Louisville, holding a gratis associate faculty positions at each. Taking his mission abroad, he has left the country numerous times to see patients in Belize and Haiti.

In his spare time, he enjoys reading suspense novels and participating in outdoor activities with his wife, three children and two dogs. He also enjoys farming and attempts to play an active role in the production of as much of his family’s food as possible through raising fruit trees, crops, chickens, fish and bees.

Christopher R. Morris, MD, FACR
Dr. Christopher Morris, SMA’s President (2020-2021), is a board certified rheumatologist with more than 25 years’ experience, and is in private practice in Kingsport, Tennessee at Arthritis Associates. Additionally, he has served as a clinical educator for internal medicine residents at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Norton Community Hospital in Norton, Virginia, and Johnston Memorial Hospital, in Abingdon, Virginia. Dr. Morris has served on 5 Committees for the American College of Rheumatology, currently serving on the Insurance Subcommittee of the ACR, which advocates for the specialty of Rheumatology, as well as-for the patients with arthritic diseases.

References and Resources

  1. Sam Quinones. Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opioid Epidemic. Published April 2015.
  2. UpToDate. Approach to the Management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in Adults. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/approach-to-the-management-of-chronic-non-cancer-pain-in-adults.
  3. Department of Veterans Affairs. Pain as the 5th Vital Sign Toolkit. https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/docs/Pain_As_the_5th_Vital_Sign_Toolkit.pdf.