An estimated 50 million people in the U.S. are living with chronic pain at any point in time. That works out to about 20% of the adult population. Chronic pain is a very real problem and one that the American healthcare system is struggling to get a handle on. While we try to figure out what is going on, the team approach to chronic pain management is the best approach.

The team approach is not something that American healthcare is traditionally known for. But over the last decade, we’ve seen a shift toward team-based healthcare in hospitals, group practices, and even public health clinics. It is an approach that brings together a group of qualified medical professionals who collaborate on behalf of the patient. But know this: the team approach doesn’t exclude the patient. Each patient is an active participant with the rest of their team.

Team-Based Pain Management

Few medical specialties benefit as much from the team approach as pain management. I can think of only a few others, including oncology and endocrinology. A team approach is almost a necessity in pain management because pain is so unique.

We normally understand pain as a symptom of an underlying condition. Even when it is, figuring out the underlying condition is not always straightforward. And sometimes pain is the condition itself – think fibromyalgia, here.

The other thing to remember is that patients experience pain in different ways. According to the experts at Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, TX, even patients dealing with the same underlying condition can report different pain experiences. It’s one of the biggest challenges in pain medicine.

A Variety of Healthcare Professionals

Treating chronic pain successfully often requires contributions from a variety of healthcare professionals. A pain management team would generally consist of a doctor, staff nurses, and any support staff the office employs. But depending on the root cause of a person’s pain, other team members might be necessary. Examples include:

• Sports medicine specialists
• Orthopedists and podiatrists
• Chiropractors
• Acupuncturists
• Psychologists and therapists

All the members of a pain management team are not likely to be housed under the same roof. But they often are linked through a common association. For example, their practices might all be associated with the same healthcare group.

As for who takes the lead, it is generally the pain management doctor. But a good doctor does not exert excessive control. He welcomes the input of every other team member.

The Patient’s Role

The one person most frequently forgotten in modern healthcare is also the most important team member: the patient. A team approach to pain management never discounts the patient. And in fact, team members want to know what patients are thinking. They want to know how a patient feels, whether or not he is on board with treatment suggestions, and even the type of support system he has access to.

It is the patient’s responsibility to make sure that he is not left out on the loop. Doctors and nurses don’t intentionally try to shut patients out, but it does happen due to the busy and complex nature of healthcare delivery. So patients have to be their own best advocates.

Pain management works best when it is approached from a team mindset. Rather than a single doctor dictating to the patient what needs to be done, an entire healthcare team collaborates with the patient to implement and manage a treatment plan. When the team approach is utilized correctly, everybody wins. More importantly, patient outcomes tend to be more positive than they would under a single provider scenario.