Opioid Epidemic: What Families Should Know about Pediatric Post-operative Pain Control
Mirna Giordano (left), Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Columbia University Medical Center; Belinda Shao (middle), Research Assistant, Rutgers University; Richard C.E. Anderson (right), MD, FACS, FAAP, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery Columbia University Medical Center. Beyond the anxiety associated with any neurosurgical procedure in our pediatric population, most children and their families are also concerned with […]
Cross Post – A Public Health Crisis Requires a Roadmap of Solutions
Today’s post originally appeared on the Healthcare Leadership Council’s Prognosis Blog. It highlights how over 70 organizations representing physicians (including organized neurosurgery), hospitals, insurers, drug and device manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, employers and patients among others have released first-of-their-kind comprehensive recommendations aimed at addressing the escalating opioid crisis in the United States. The “Roadmap for Action” gives […]
Cross Post – Efforts to Curb Opioid Misuse Must Preserve Patient Access to Medically-necessary Opioids
Robert F. Heary, MD For today’s post, we wanted to highlight an opinion piece published by The Hill featuring neurosurgery’s own Robert F. Heary, MD, FAANS, professor of neurological surgery at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and chair of the AANS/CNS Committee on Drugs and Devices. The article, “Efforts to Curb Opioid Misuse Must […]
Delighted and Proud
Guest Post from Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FACS, FAANS Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee Mount Kismo Medical Group Columbia University Medical Center Mt Kisco, New York Having a career as a neurosurgeon is incredibly rewarding. Perhaps even more gratifying is being a part of such a remarkable community. While neurosurgeons represent only one […]
The Rush to Limit Opioid Prescribing
Christopher J. Winfree, MD, FAANS Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University New York, NY Ever since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, there has been increased attention paid to the use of opioids to treat chronic pain in America. Much of this has been in response to a worsening opioid crisis for […]
DoD/VA Lead the Way in the Opioid Crisis
Christopher Spevak, MD, MPH, JD (left) Chair of the DoD/VA Opioid Clinical Practice Guideline Medical officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he directs the National Capital Region Opioid Safety Program Bethesda, MD Randy Bell, MD, FAANS, MC, USN (right) Associate professor and chief of neurosurgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center […]
Cross Post – CDC Launches Rx Awareness Campaign
From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they hit the mark on an issue. Since we are smack dab in the middle of our focus-month on topics related to pain, we wanted to bring attention to the Centers for Disease […]
DRG Stimulation: Evidence-based Strategy for the Treatment of Severe Chronic Neuropathic Pain
Christopher J. Winfree, MD, FAANS Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University New York, NY Neurosurgeons have played an important role in the management of neuropathic pain since the inception of the field of neurological surgery over a century ago. Most early neurosurgical pain therapies were ablative in nature. The non-ablative neuromodulation strategies were introduced in […]
How Repealing the Medical Device Tax Can Lessen the Pain
Scott Whitaker President and CEO of AdvaMed (the Advanced Medical Technology Association) Nearly 50 million adults have significant chronic pain or severe pain, according to a 2015 study by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. That is why the medical technology industry is continually advancing and developing new innovations […]
AANS Neurosurgeon Spotlight: September 2017 – The Enemy of Human Happiness: Pain
AANS Neurosurgeon is the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and features information and analysis for contemporary neurosurgical practice. Topics covered relate to legislation, workforce issues and practice management as they affect the specialty of neurosurgery. The September 2017 edition of AANS Neurosurgeon explores the theme, “The Enemy of Human […]