Pitt Pain Medicine Scores at AAPM 2020

Pitt Anesthesiology residents Drs. Semerjit Bains and Neal Shah

Pitt Pain Medicine presented exciting work, with some presentations achieving recognition, at the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) 36th Annual Meeting on February 26-March 1, 2020 in National Harbor, MD.

We presented five posters at the meeting. Two of those, which represented exciting work from the research group of Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc using information technology to improve pain care, were selected as award-winners, representing the most cutting-edge pain research of the year. Poster awards were only given to six researchers total, who presented their work during live concurrent sessions at the meeting:

POSTERS

  • AWARD WINNER: Applying Machine Learning to Decrease Research Chart Reviews of Electronic Health Records: A Method of Automated Opioid Medication Classification for Pain Medicine Research, Sean McDermott, MD; Andrea Gillman, PhD; Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc
  • AWARD WINNER: Identifying Phenotypic Subpopulations of Chronic Pain Patients using k-means Cluster Analysis of Body Map Data, Nathan Anderson, BA, MDiv; Andrea Gillman, PhD; Qing Yin, BS; Jong-Hyeon Jeong, PhD; Benedict Alter, MD, PhD; Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc
  • Real-world Outcomes of Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Knee Pain, Neal Shah, MD; Semerjit Bains, MD; Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc; Benedict, Alter, MD, PhD
  • Peritoneal Defect Discovered during Pump Exchange: A Complication of Intrathecal Drug Delivery Systems and Approach to Management, Tigran Kesayan, MD; Neal Shah, MD; Devang Padalia, MD
  • Cannabis Satisfaction Rates in Chronic Pain Patients, Alyson Engle, MD; Ankur Patel, MD; Andrea Gillman, PhD; Cheryl Bernstein, MD; Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc

Dr. Wasan and Scott A. Brancolini, MD, MPH also participated in the following meeting sessions:

  • Session 318: The Future of IPM? Evidence, Technique, Documentation, Billing and Coding Strategies for Percutaneous Surgeries
    • Presenter, Scott Brancolini, MD MPH: SCS & DRG: Evidence, Authorization, and Billing
  • Moderator, Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc: Session 407: Moving from Patient-Reported Outcomes to Medical Informatics Approaches to Help Your Practice;  
    • Presenter, Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc: Combining PRO's and Medical Record Information to Predict Patient Outcomes in Your Practice
  • Session 003: Integrating Behavioral Pain Medicine into Patient Care: Science, Practice, and Innovations
    • Presenter, Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc: Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders
  • Session 001: Pharmacologic Management of Pain: Expanding the Options, Improving Outcomes
    • Presenter, Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc: Analgesic Antidepressants for Chronic Pain
    • Presenter, Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc: Pharmacologic Management of Pain-Related Sleep Disruption

The meeting also marked the beginning of Dr. Ajay Wasan’s term as President of the AAPM, the only national multidisciplinary society for pain care professionals in the US.

Pain Medicine faculty serve on numerous AAPM committees. Dr. Wasan and Susan Jarquin, PhD are members of the Behavioral Medicine Committee; Dr. Wasan and Trent D. Emerick, MD, MBA serve on the Opioid Advisory Committee; Dr. Wasan and Benedict Alter, MD, PhD are on the Scientific Poster Abstract Committee; Dr. Wasan is a member of the Finance, Nominating, and Research Committees; and Dr. Brancolini serves on the Pain Medicine Fellowship Excellence Award Committee.