Chronic Pain Management: Guidelines for Multidisciplinary Program Development , Michael E. Schatman & Alexandra Campbell, Editors		Kevin Zacharoff, MD
This book is a compilation of chapters written by a variety of respected experts in the field of pain medicine. The comprehensive scope of the author's expertise forms a true multidisciplinary panel from around the world. Given the book's title, one might expect that this text is entirely devoted to developing a multidisciplinary pain program. However, it is actually more like three books in one. The first section of this book deals with the issues surrounding chronic pain in society today. It begins by covering the history of the multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with chronic pain. This is followed by a very comprehensive look at the epidemiology of chronic pain, and its impact on patients and society from a medical and economic perspective. Indeed one of the main messages of this book is that there are mixed signals being sent from the legislature through its reimbursement policies and public health initiatives. Current thinking is that the financial, emotional, and physical burdens of chronic pain on our society are tremendous, and deserving of attention and better treatment. The conflict arises when third party payers don't compensate for effective treatment approaches and centers designed to fight this battle close due to lack of funding, or financial losses. The next section deals with commonly utilized approaches to treating chronic pain, and alternative multidisciplinary approaches that can replace, or act as adjuncts to more widely used practices. In some cases, these alternatives might not fall into what some might call "mainstream thinking", but they play a significant role in the multi-faceted approach to treating this very challenging condition. Additionally, views from the patient perspective are included in this section of the book, and given integral authority. The patient's perspective calls attention to certain groups of patients who often suffer from disparate treatment when it comes to pain management. The third and final section is directed towards what the title implies-things to consider in order to develop a successful multidisciplinary pain center. Topics covered in this section include suggestions for policies and procedures, as well as outcome measurement.

Who would likely benefit most from this book?
This book is clearly intended to benefit clinicians who face the challenges of providing quality healthcare when treating chronic pain today. The argument is made throughout this text that successful pain treatment can be achieved only through recognizing the importance of the different factors encountered when treating this complex condition.

How would you recommend this book be used to enhance the care of a chronic pain patient?
This book lays the groundwork for "fighting the battle" between successfully treating chronic pain vs. financial decision-making. It is intended as a how-to guide for people to utilize, or make the argument to use and support the multidisciplinary approach to treatment of chronic pain. The economic focus is given an appropriate level of attention, as whether we like it or not, financial pressures influence support for initiatives in healthcare today. Sometimes this influence is stronger than the impact from a healthcare perspective, which is unfortunate but real, and deserves to be stated.

Are there any features or sections of the book you liked most or least?
In my opinion, the best feature of this book is the inclusion of the patient's perspective. Clinical texts and information rarely offer the voice of the patient, especially in respect to what they are looking for in a treatment approach. The presentation covering the social impact of chronic pain, and disparate treatment across different patient groups also stands out.

Michael Schatman is a Consulting Clinical Psychologist in Bellevue, Washington. Dr. Schatman serves on the advisory board of Practical Pain Management, and is on the Board of Directors of the Western Pain Society. He was the editor of Ethical Issues and Chronic Pain Management.

Alexandra Campbell is the Director of Pain Program Accreditation and Outcomes Measurement of the American Academy of Pain Management, and has authored many pieces on the subject of pain management.