Opioid prescriptions and patients' health services utilization and cost before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory population-based administrative data analysis.

The objective was to explore percentages of the population treated with prescribed opioids and costs of opioid-related hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits among individuals treated with prescription opioids and costs of all opioid-related hospitalizations and ED visits in the province (i.e., provincial costs) before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Alberta, Canada.

Economic burden of chronic pain in Alberta, Canada.

Background: Although chronic pain (CP) is common, little is known about its economic burden in Alberta, Canada.

Aims: To estimate incremental (as compared to the general population or people without CP) societal (healthcare and lost productivity) costs of CP in Alberta.

Methods: We applied the prevalence estimated from the Canadian Community Health Survey data to the population retrieved from the Statistics Canada to estimate the number of people with CP in Alberta in 2019.

Physician-to-physician telephone consultations for chronic pain patients: A pragmatic randomized trial.

Background: The impact of telephone consultations between pain specialists and primary care physicians regarding the care of patients with chronic pain is unknown.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of telephone consultations between pain specialists and primary care physicians regarding the care of patients with chronic pain.

Methods: Patients referred to an interdisciplinary chronic pain service were randomly assigned to either receive usual care by the primary care physician, or to have their case discussed in a telephone consultation between a pain specialist and the referring primary care physician.

Canadian Pain Society and Canadian Rheumatology Association recommendations for rational care of persons with fibromyalgia: a summary report.

Objective: To summarize the development of evidence-based guidelines for the clinical care of persons with fibromyalgia (FM), taking into account advances in understanding of the pathogenesis of FM, new diagnostic criteria, and new treatment options.

Methods: Recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and patient followup were drafted according to the classification system of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, and following review were endorsed by the Canadian Rheumatology Association and the Canadian Pain Society.

Results: FM is a polysymptomatic syndrome presenting a spectrum of severity, with a pivotal symptom of body pain.

2012 Canadian Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia syndrome: executive summary.

Background: Recent neurophysiological evidence attests to the validity of fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain condition that affects >2% of the population.

Objectives: To present the evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis, management and patient trajectory of individuals with FM.

Methods: A needs assessment following consultation with diverse health care professionals identified questions pertinent to various aspects of FM.

Nurse case management program of chronic pain patients treated with methadone.

Methadone treatment in chronic pain patients is still limited owing to misconceptions about addiction, safety, and its unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Nevertheless, patients with chronic noncancer pain are frequently treated with methadone at our Pain Centre either as the first opioid of choice, for specific pain conditions, or as a second-line opioid in patients developing tolerance or intractable side effects with other opioids. The aim of this study was to examine whether a nurse case management program of chronic pain patients treated with methadone is feasible and safe in trying to improve patients' care in an ambulatory setting.