Easing the Pain

Pain is a common occurrence in a hospital, whether it is a byproduct of the healing process or a symptom of an underlying disease process. To better control that pain, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is planning to expand its pain services to include chronic pain treatment alongside its acute pain treatment.

Acute pain is the type of pain you would feel if you broke a bone or stubbed your toe: It comes on rapidly and can be very intense. Chronic pain is different in that it doesn’t go away and is often a more sustained and dull or achy type of pain. To treat these types of pain as effectively as possible, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is taking a comprehensive, integrated approach to its new pain treatment plan.

“The idea is to bring all of our pain treatment professionals under one roof,” says G. Michael Lynch, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. “Having physicians and practitioners who are highly trained about what treatments and modalities work [for particular patients] is an important part of this,” he says.

The hospital may use pain specialists in determining the best courses of treatment for patients. “This person would do an intake evaluation and would determine what kind of pain the patient is experiencing and the significance of that pain,” says Dr. Lynch. “They would then guide the patient to the right area.”

Another key aspect of this integrated approach could involve deploying psychiatry and psychological pain professionals early on in the treatment of a patient. Often chronic pain has a psychological component, and integrating these services with more traditional pain treatments would ensure patients receive the most effective care possible.