Primary care summits.

Abstract

Building bridges that connect our clinical colleagues in Primary Care with Pain Medicine specialists has been an important focus of mine for as long as I have been a member of the Academy. This year, as I serve as your President, is no different. I am committed to efforts toward improving medical management at the initial contact point—frequently in the primary care setting—for most patients experiencing pain. At the end of this year's annual meeting in Washington, DC, there were discussions with primary care providers representing the Veteran's Administration and the Department of Defense. As you are aware, the VA and DOD are having challenges with large numbers of wounded veterans experiencing battlefield injuries and chronic pain. Primary care at the VA is leading the effort to provide long term, comprehensive pain management to these heroic soldiers and has developed state-of-the-art, innovative programs to treat patients despite limited resources. The Academy is continuing to explore opportunities to help primary care provide comprehensive care to these organizations. Through our work with the AAPM Primary Care Shared Interest Group, which I have chaired since its founding several …