Reducing Chronic Opioid Use Among Veterans Undergoing Community Care Surgery Using a Transitional Pain Service
The VA Community Care program has improved access to surgical care for Veterans unable to have treatment at VA Medical Centers in a timely fashion. However, the delivery of surgical care outside the VA poses barriers to care coordination for pain management during the transitions before and after surgery, leading to increased risk for chronic opioid use (COU). A multidisciplinary approach to perioperative pain management known as the Transitional Pain Service (TPS) has been shown to effectively reduce COU among Veterans after orthopedic surgery, but it is unknown whether this approach can be delivered virtually to reduce COU among at-risk Veterans undergoing similar procedures at non-VA hospitals. Read more about this research here.