Course DescriptionWhen we practitioners approach complex medical problems (whether pain, depression, or even GERD) that have psychological and lifestyle components and we do so with minimally monitored drug-only therapies, we may bounce from one “wonder drug” to another and end up bewildered or worse.

These problems need complex approaches that address the component parts and we can’t just rely on finding the next wonder drug. Perhaps it’s part of the American mindset: wanting a pill to fix problems. Part of it is from the perverse incentives in a healthcare system that wants to find solutions to complex issues and then implement them on the cheap, running them through primary care on a conveyor belt. In pain we see history repeating itself around the medical cannabis issue.

All the same mistakes are being made again and with poor care coordination, risk management, and assessment it will end up doing harm.