The Future of Perioperative Pain Management

The field of pain managementPain management is rapidly expanding as it parallels the significant increase in surgical procedure breadth and volume. As healthcare systems transition to performing a larger percentage of surgical care in the outpatient or ambulatory setting, the field of pain managementPain management will need to evolve to ensure efficient discharge readiness with adequate pain control regimens that minimize the risk of opioid related adverse events and need for unplanned readmissions. New pathways within pain managementPain management may significantly change the current pain medicine landscape. The use of artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence (AI) software may help to improve access to and success of regional anesthesiaRegional anesthesia techniques. AI may also be useful in sifting through large amounts of data to determine the best pain managementPain management regimen for a specific patient. GeneticsGenetics may also be a key to the future of pain managementPain management. Knowing an individual’s specific geneticGenetics response to pain stimuli and their response to various medications will be helpful in tailoring a pain regimen that is highly individualized. Finally, the perioperativePerioperative home model of care can help to identify patients that would benefit from additional prehabilitationPrehabilitation or counseling prior to surgery. Patients with a history of frailty or chronic painChronic pain who need a more comprehensive pain plan for their postoperative course may benefit greatly from enhanced preoperative planning. There are many changes on the horizon in the field of pain managementPain management that will improve access and benefit patients experiencing acute pain.Pain management