Airing Pain

This edition of Airing Pain was prompted by the 2022 NICE Guidelines which followed a Public Health England report (2019) looking at medicines associated with dependence and withdrawal. Read transcript This new legislation follows increased concerns in high levels of prescribing. This edition discusses the challenges and opportunities of de-prescribing; and poses a shift in focus towards supported self-management and de-medicalising the management of pain for some patients. By this we mean the exploration of alternative therapies and supported self-care customised to individual needs, which come hand-in-hand with any de-prescribing of medicines. We discuss the incredibly important role of the advanced pharmacist practitioner in adjusting the prescriptions of medicine, and the long-term regular use of pharmacists for these purposes. Contributors: Dr Emma Davies, Advanced Pharmacist Practitioner specialising in Pain Management Dr Keith Mitchell, Consultant in Pain Medicine at the Royal Cornwall Hospital D