Black Dog Institute - For Health Professionals

Dr Simon Holliday says the problem of prescription opiate misuse is very big in the rural sector in Australia. Consequences of opiate use include death, increased pain, suppression of breathing in sleep and sleep apnoea amongst many other things including the social consequences. As GPs we need to be prepared to “invest some time to give detailed attention to all the different complex aspects of their problem” in order to properly manage opiate dependence. Dr Toby Newton-John describes the important elements of non-pharmacological management of chronic pain as it is delivered in the face to face environment. Dr Regina Schultz from the Reboot Program at THISWAYUP (http://thiswayup.org.au/how-we-can-help/courses/chronic-pain/) describes the way in which the principles of face-to-face pain management have been translated to the online context. MindSpot Virtual Clinic’s Pain Management Program (http://mindspot.org.au/pain-course ) is also briefly described. Moderator: Dr Jan Orman Guests: Dr Simon Holliday,