CPM-03 - A Classic With a New Twist: The Utilization of Buprenorphine in the Chronic Pain Patient

The utilization of buprenorphine and its associated products has proven to be a novel approach to the treatment of the chronic pain patient in the last 10 years. Given the context of the opioid epidemic nationally and the ever-changing guidelines on management from the CDC, pain providers need a stable tool in which to treat their patients at a baseline level. Buprenorphine has proven to be such a tool that has helped clinicians have a basis of pharmacological intervention while focusing on more holistic care approaches centering on function. There has been a reluctance of utilizing this medication in chronic pain patients as an opioid alternative due to stigmas, misinformation, anxiety and fear around medications for chronic opioid replacement. Buprenorphine stands in stark contrast to medication assistance treatments such as methadone and provides a wider wealth of formulations and management strategies that will help chronic pain patients improve their function and their ability to reincorporate into their lives in a meaningful way. The goal of this lecture is to provide the attendee the basics of pharmacology of buprenorphine, side effect profiles, management strategies and goals of care along with case based examples in which to implement treatment in a practical way. The emphasis of the lecture is to provide a framework in which to incorporate buprenorphine into a standard practice through practical examples, deep understanding of the unique characteristics of the medicine and use it as a basis for thereafter incorporating holistic approaches to this complex patient population and focusing on increased functioning in their lives.