Person with Lived Experience, Pain Management Patient Journey

Did you know that one in five Canadians struggles with chronic pain each day?  Many are faced with very difficult choices in managing their pain and turn to various forms of prescription and illicit drugs to find relief. Physicians are often faced with trying to support their patients, while being vigilant in appropriately providing relief. This has created a perfect storm of concern for both patients and providers in communities.  The Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Division of Family Practice is looking for people with lived experience to participate in a patient journey map to inform improved care for patients dealing with addictions and narcotic/opioids dependency due to chronic pain.

Open to: Patient partners in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

Lead Organization or Department

Ridge Meadows Divisions of Family Practice

Aim

As a person with lived experience, you will join clinicians and administrators to document your  journey in managing chronic pain. You will be invited to share your lived experiences related to the various stages and transitions of chronic pain. This will assist the group to more fully understand how existing processes and changes might be improved to positively impact addressing chronic pain in the community.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement (www.iap2.org). The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

Eligibility

Patient partners in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows communities who:

• have used opiates/illicit drugs to manage chronic pain, but are no longer using them to manage;
• are currently using prescribed opiates to manage chronic pain;
• are using illicit drugs to manage chronic pain

If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and volunteer agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Jami Brown directly.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 5
• Date/Time: To be determined, based on availability
• Orientation: You will be invited to attend a half an hour orientation call in preparation for the session.
• Location: Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows area.
• Commitment: The initial commitment is one to two evening sessions (up to 3 hours each), with some follow-up via telephone, or other means.
• Other: Meals and refreshments will be provided.

Reimbursement

Preapproved expenses related to local travel to in person meetings will be reimbursed (including mileage, parking, tolls and/or public transit).

Background

Ridge Meadows Division of Family Practice serves the two communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows – a total population of 99,500. The Ridge Meadows Division of Family Practice (RMDFP) has a membership of 101 physicians as well as 53 specialist physicians practicing in the community. Ridge Meadows has an engaged physician community that believes in collaboration and partnership to achieve shared outcomes that impact patient care. The Division also works collaboratively with Fraser Health, community organizations, stakeholders and patients to identify challenges and solutions at a local level. In 2014, the local MLA’s office notified the Division of a challenge they became aware of, that was affecting local constituents. Residents of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were unable to get the support they needed to obtain prescriptions for pain management from their physicians and as a result, were seeking help from local political leaders. Emergency Room physicians at Ridge Meadows Hospital also brought forward concerns about patients seeking assistance from the hospital to deal with pain and obtain medications. Upon further consultation with family physicians, it became evident that family physicians feel limited in their ability to care for patients experiencing addictions arising from chronic pain management. These challenges include limitations on prescribing practices, fear of audits from the College of Physicians that affect prescribing, lack of awareness of addictions services that are available in the community, and a lack of knowledge about how to appropriately support patients struggling in this area. In Ridge Meadows there is a lack of specialized services for patients dealing with chronic pain and addictions. As a result, many patients are unable to get the care they need and seek various physicians throughout their journey, ultimately ending up in the emergency department; walk in clinics or turning to street drugs to help them cope with chronic pain issues. Project Goal: Improve care of patients dealing with addictions and narcotic/opioids dependency due to chronic pain. Project Objectives:

1. Strengthen the ability of family physicians to provide care to patients through education around the College prescribing standards, improving patient - physician attachment and developing standard of care protocols.
2. Identify services available in the community and improve awareness and access to the services.
3. Develop collaborative care approach to improve communication and referrals to addictions specialists and pain support services.
4. Provide pain management support and education for patients and providers to help patients manage pain more effectively.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Fraser Valley
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca