Airing Pain 61: Deciding Together

How shared decision making works in practice, plus, making IT work for people in pain and healthcare professionals

This edition has been funded by Pain Concern’s friends and supporters.

In this edition of Airing Pain we hear about how people in pain can take an active role in their care through shared decision making and technological tools.

‘Being collaborative is fundamental’ for managing pain, says Dave Tomson, a GP working on the MAGIC Programme (Making good decisions in collaboration). He speaks to Producer Paul Evans at the British Pain Society’s (BPS) Annual Scientific Meeting in Manchester about the advantages and challenges in developing an approach to medicine where decisions are made by doctors and patients together.

Technology can play a transformative role in empowering people in pain, but there are also pitfalls to be avoided. Jason Davies discusses the pros and cons of ‘telemedicine’ as a pain specialist working in the remote Argyll region of north western Scotland. Other members of the BPS Special Interest Group on Information and Communication Technology discuss the things patients and doctors should be looking out for when using online resources and the cultural change needed to make technology work – people in pain empowered to take responsibility for their pain.

Issues covered in this programme include: Technology, IT, policy, funding of pain services, patient involvement, telemedicine, remote/rural areas, online, web, internet, multidisciplinary, accessibility, access to health services, medication, side effects, collaboration, managing consultations and telephone consultations.

Contributors:

• Dr Dave Tomson, GP
• Meherzin Das, Clinical Lead, Dorset Pain Management Unit and Chair of the British Pain Society’s Information and Communication Technology Special Interest Group
• John Worth, Founder and CEO of Know Your Own Health
• David Barrett, Member of the British Pain Society’s Information and Communication Technology Special Interest Group
• Dr Jason Davies, Consultant Anaesthetist, Lorn & Islands Hospital, Oban and Clinical Lead, Argyle Pain Service.