Guidance in Pain Management Testing

This presentation will focus on test utilization in the area of pain management testing. Clinical toxicology is one of the fastest growing areas of laboratory medicine driven in large part by the needs in pain management. As a result, a wide variety of old and new workflows have been implemented in an attempt to address the needs of the patient, the physician, and the laboratory. Unfortunately, the complexity in test offerings, changing reimbursement strategies, and the inherent competition in the marketplace have made test selection overly complex for the majority of providers. Why and how specific analytical methods are used will be discussed and a deconvolution of several key concepts in toxicology will be provided. In addition, important cost considerations from the laboratory and provider point of view will be highlighted.