Physician - Pain Management

Physician (Pain Management)

The Physician (Pain Management) provides care for Veterans within the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center in Huntington, WV. Services will be offered through a combination of in-person visits and virtual/telehealth appointments, in the outpatient and inpatient setting, within an interprofessional specialty care team that utilizes the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain Care and the VA Stepped Care Model of Pain Management.

Major duties, include but are not limited to:

• Perform comprehensive medical and functional evaluations for Veterans referred to the Pain Clinic, including history, physical examination, and review of diagnostic studies.
• Establish accurate pain diagnoses and comorbidities (e.g., substance use disorders, mental health issues) and, in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, develop individualized, integrated treatment plans that emphasize functional restoration and self-management.
• Perform interventional pain care, including fluoroscopy and ultrasound-guided invasive procedures (e.g., epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablations, joint injections, spinal cord stimulator trials, intrathecal baclofen trials, intrathecal pump refills).
• Provide inpatient Chronic Pain consultative services for Veterans admitted to the hospital.
• Provide medication management for chronic pain conditions, focusing on polypharmacy reduction, opioid risk stratification, and utilizing non-opioid analgesics and adjuvant medications.
• Manage opioid medications and perform opioid medication adjustments including tapers as indicated and in compliance with current VA/DOD Long-term Opioid Therapy Clinical Practice Guidelines, and local VA policies.
• Orders, performs, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests, imaging, and other diagnostic studies necessary to optimize the pain care plan. Follows up with Veterans regarding results per VHA standards to discuss care plans, changes to therapy, and additional monitoring or testing requirements.
• Provide clinical collaboration with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other members of the interdisciplinary team.
• Complete all required electronic health record documentation in accordance with VHA standards, including timely, accurate entries for pain management activities, therapeutic changes, recommendations, procedures, and patient check-out (such as diagnostic and procedure codes). Ensures compliance with national and local performance measures, including prompt health screenings and completion of clinical reminders for patients.
• Perform other clinical duties as indicated and assigned.

Administrative:

• Participate in program development activities, including data collection/management, policy development/adherence, and documentation, as indicated by section and service leadership.
• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings, as well as pain committee and other pain meetings (e.g., data-based risk reviews), as indicated by section and service leadership.
• Participate in intra- and interdepartmental committees, task forces, and projects, as requested by section and service leadership.

Academic/Teaching/Training:

• Provide didactics/lectures to medical staff within the area of pain management, specifically pain-focused interventions

Work Schedule: FT, Monday - Friday, 8am to 4:30pm