Publications by authors named "W A Becker"
The opioid crisis has disproportionately affected U.S. veterans, leading the Veterans Health Administration to implement opioid prescribing guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Chronic pain is common among individuals with dialysis-dependent kidney failure.
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of pain coping skills training (PCST), a cognitive behavioral intervention, on pain interference.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial of PCST vs usual care was conducted across 16 academic centers and 103 outpatient dialysis facilities in the US.
Objective: Neurocognitive symptoms (NCSs) may be early indicators of opioid-related harm. We aimed to evaluate the incidence and potential attribution of opioid-related NCS among patients on long-term opioid therapy (LOT) by using natural language processing to extract data from the electronic health records within the Veterans Health Administration.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients prescribed LOT in 2018.
Objectives: With over 184,000 new cases and more than 99,000 deaths per year, malignancies of the larynx are a global health problem. Currently, a dedicated screening method enabling a direct onsite diagnosis is missing. This can lead to delayed diagnosis and worse outcomes of the patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Patients on long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain often still suffer from unrelieved pain and quality of life issues.
- This study compared two approaches for managing these patients: an integrated pain team (IPT) focused on holistic care versus pharmacist collaborative management (PCM) concentrated on medication optimization.
- Results showed similar outcomes for both groups in terms of pain response and opioid dosage reduction after 12 months, indicating that both methods can be effective in managing chronic pain.