Empowering health care professionals and patients in the battle against pain
PAMI continues finding solutions for acute and chronic pain.
Debilitating — it’s a word commonly used to characterize the signs and symptoms of individuals struggling with acute or chronic pain.
More people suffer from pain than all other diseases combined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 50 million adults suffer from chronic pain in the United States. This can significantly impact quality of life.
It’s important for patients discharged from emergency departments to have adequate education and instructions on appropriate pain management options, especially on nonopioid and nonpharmacologic methods. The University of Florida Pain Assessment and Management Initiative, or PAMI, acts as a resource for individuals who need assistance at a vulnerable time in their health. PAMI has made significant contributions to pain management research and treatment, with a mission to advance innovation and safety in pain education, patient care and research.
“The patient’s first pain experience often starts in an ED. This experience will shape how they handle pain in the future,” said Phyllis Hendry, MD, a professor of emergency medicine and associate chair for emergency medicine research at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. Hendry founded the PAMI program along with co-founder Sophia Sheikh, MD, an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine. Sheikh is also the medical director of the Florida/USVI Poison Information Center – Jacksonville at UF Health Jacksonville.
Established in 2014, PAMI is housed under the research division of the department of emergency medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. What makes this program work effectively is its multidisciplinary approach, with various collaborating departments, programs and colleges.
Collaborators include:
- UF College of Pharmacy
- Department of Anesthesiology (UF COMJ)
- Department of Surgery, Acute Care Surgery (UF COMJ)
- UF Health Jacksonville Information Technology
- Quality Management, Pharmacy, Nursing, Rehabilitative Services, Palliative Care and others.
“As an institution, our collective goal is stopping the transition of acute to chronic pain if possible and to give patients multidisciplinary tools and options,” said Hendry. “We still have a lot of work to do but it has been a great team collaboration across the campus and the state.”
PAMI’s Impact
Throughout the life of the program, PAMI investigators have acquired more than $6 million in funding from federal grants, university seed grants and private foundations.
The program has captured the attention of health care professionals worldwide, who seek its invaluable resources for patient and clinical education in addition to research. To date, PAMI has produced 37 publications and nearly 100 invited national and international presentations and posters to educate other health care professionals and leaders.
Solution-driven research
Currently, PAMI has seven ongoing pain-related research studies, with more than 1,200 participants enrolled. These studies are led by Dr. Sheikh.
“All of these studies, whether basic research-, patient safety- or education-focused, will improve the future of pain management for our patients and our health care professionals by improving our understanding of pain and decreasing dependence on opioids and unhealthy life choices,” Sheikh said.
PAMI has made significant contributions to pain management research and treatment, with a mission to advance innovation and safety in pain education, patient care and research.
Pain Coach Educator and Integrative Patient Discharge Toolkit program
The PAMI Pain Coach Educator and Integrative Patient Discharge Toolkit program began in January 2021 in the UF Health Jacksonville Emergency Room and UF Health TraumaOne. It quickly expanded to inpatient areas and pain clinics. As part of this program, patients receive a pain coach educator session and a toolkit of materials to help manage their pain at home. Since inception, there have been over 2,700 pain coach sessions conducted and 4,500 PAMI toolkits disseminated.
Using an implementation science approach to determine outcomes, PAMI collaborated with the UF Center for Data Solutions and the UF Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics to determine the effectiveness of this first-of-its-kind program in the U.S.
In a recent presentation at the 2023 American College of Emergency Physicians Research Forum, Hendry presented data about Pain Coach Educator and Discharge Toolkit program use, feedback and patient satisfaction evaluated one month after a coaching session. At one month, the majority of patients reported the program as helpful or very helpful, and most were still using toolkit items. The most commonly used items consisted of aromatherapy, hot/cold gel packs and a multimodal pain management analogy using a stress ball known as a car with four flat tires.
The PAMI team at the Department of Health Community Health Fair.
National recognition for PAMI
Drs. Hendry and Sheikh’s exceptional work with PAMI has not gone unnoticed.
In 2019, Hendry and Sheikh received the UF INNOVATE Innovations of the Year Tech Licensing Favorites Award for their work with PAMI, followed by the 2021 Robert Wears Patient Safety Leadership Team Award.
In July 2022 they were awarded a two-year, $999,000 award from the Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association to continue PAMI-funded pharmacogenomic research and implementation science research on the pain coach and patient integrative toolkit model.
What’s next for PAMI
Pain is not exclusive to adults. PAMI resources are also used by the Florida Emergency Medical Services for Children program and other pediatric related programs. Hendry serves as the Florida EMSC Program and Medical Director. The program, housed in UFCOMJ Emergency Medicine and funded by HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) partners with state emergency departments, emergency medical service agencies, disaster preparedness organizations and families to enhance pediatric readiness for ill and injured children.
Additionally, PAMI will continue its collaboration on a new five-year Duval County Florida Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Overdose Data to Action grant to expand PAMI resources and programs to the Duval County Community.
Visit pami.emergency.med.jax.ufl.edu for more information on PAMI. Follow PAMI on Facebook and LinkedIn.
