Pain management, when viewed from a medical perspective, is defined as a comprehensive approach to both controlling pain and treating its underlying cause. Among the goals are increasing physical function and improving the patient's quality of life.
The definition seems simple enough, doesn't it? In reality, the actual practice of pain management isn't always easy. The complexities of the human mind and body see to that. Yet despite how difficult pain management can be, the KindlyMD team is fully committed to treating every patient in the best way we can.
A medical perspective of pain management suggests that effectively treating a patient is a team sport. In other words, treatment is not left solely to the patient's general practitioner or a single pain management doctor. Ideally, an entire team of healthcare professionals works together to address all the aspects of a patient's pain.
What does a typical pain management team look like? It consists of:
A team approach to pain management leans into the expertise of each team member to address the complexities of pain. In so many cases, the pain experience is not just physical. It also has emotional and psychological components. Therefore, a more representative team with a broad base of knowledge and experience is preferred.
One thing we make a point of emphasizing at KindlyMD is that the patient is on the team, too. We don't view the patient as a bystander or merely a service recipient. They are an active and participating member of the team whose personal knowledge and experience really informs the decision-making process.
As a patient, you deserve to be heard. You are best served when your thoughts, emotions, and experiences are taken seriously. Ultimately, we want you to maintain control over your healthcare. That is not possible if we exclude you from the team. But no worries, excluding patients is not part of our playbook.
All of this is made possible thanks to the recognition of pain management as a medical specialty. Things were not always this way, though. Seventy-five years ago, pain management was the domain of family doctors and internists. But as Western medicine learned more about pain, it became abundantly clear that pain management needed to be its own specialty.
Pain management doctors go through the same medical school training as GPs and internists. But then they go on to receive additional training tailored to understanding as much about pain and its management as possible.
Fortunately, pain management is a specialty open to advanced practice clinicians as well. Both physician assistants and nurse practitioners can specialize in pain management, practicing side-by-side with doctors or independently (were allowed by law).
There are many perspectives on pain out there, from patients to providers and everyone in between. Your experience with and opinions on pain likely differ from someone else's in some way, shape, or form. It is normal, and it's okay.
Our perspective is one that says you are not defined by your pain. You are a person who deserves every opportunity to live your life the way you want to live it. If we can help through effective pain management strategies, that is what we want to do. We are here to help you regain function, improve your quality of life, and simply feel better day-to-day. If we can help you accomplish that, we have fulfilled our mission.
What we consider the modern opioid crisis dates to the mid-1990s and the introduction of a new wave of prescription painkillers. And because humans tend to understand history through the lens of their own memories, it is not unusual for someone to believe that opioid painkillers did not exist prior to the 1990s.
Actually, opioid pain treatments are centuries old. They go back a lot farther than most people understand. Even so, growing numbers of medical providers believe there are better options. Many of us believe that opioids should not be a first-line treatment.
Some of the earliest records of opioids being used for pain relief date back to ancient Mesopotamia circa 4,000 BC. Way back then, the 'milk of the poppy' was a well-known analgesic. Ancient Sumerians used opium from the poppy as a pain reliever.
History records opium making its way to Asia somewhere around 700 AD. Five hundred years after that, opium was readily available throughout Europe. Reports of abuse and addiction began to emerge in Europe and Asia in the 18th century.
By the early 19th century, pharmacists began isolating opium compounds to create drugs. Morphine was one of the first. Introducing morphine as a pharmaceutical pain reliever opened the door to organized and regulated opioid pain management. The rest, as they say, is history.
By the end of the 19th century, opioid drugs like morphine and heroin were often the drugs of choice for pain management, mental health treatments, and addressing sleep disorders. Governments around the world responded by regulating the drugs.
Fast forward to 2024 and we are seeing the adverse effects of investing too much of our pain management in opioid therapy. Opioid pain management does have legitimate applications. There are particularly good reasons for prescribing opioid painkillers. But there are other options. In many cases, pain can be managed without using any opioids at all.
A modern approach to pain management looks at opioid medications as just one part of a much larger ecosystem of solutions. Pain medications cannot be a solution all by themselves.
What are the other components? Here are just a few of them:
The modern approach to pain management is a multi-disciplinary approach. In simple English, we don't just pull out a prescription pad, write a few orders, and send a patient on their way. Modern pain management emphasizes combining multiple therapies capable of treating the whole person in body, mind, and spirit.
As effective as opioid pain management can be, it is limited in the sense that it only treats the physical aspects of pain. But pain is not just physical. It has emotional and psychological components as well. That's why a comprehensive approach to pain management includes mental health counseling.
Science has also discovered in recent years that a patient's perspective of pain usually influences their physical experience. A patient expecting to experience significant pain from a medical procedure will, indeed, experience that pain. Someone not expecting severe pain is less likely to experience it.
While opioid pain management has helped a lot of people over the centuries, what we now know about opioids suggests caution. The good news is that there are other ways to manage pain without relying exclusively on opioids. You can learn more by visiting a KindlyMD clinic.
Healthcare works best when providers and patients work together as a team. And just as with any other team effort, both players need to be on the same page. With that in mind, we encourage patients coming to KindlyMD for help with pain management to be completely open and transparent with providers.
Whether you are seen by a doctor or advanced practice nurse, your provider needs to know as much as possible about your situation. No bit of information, regardless of how insignificant it might seem, is completely without value. That is why providers ask so many questions. It is why they write so many things down.
Pain management providers obviously want as much information about your pain as possible. They want to know where you feel it and how intense it is. They want to know the quality and type of pain. For instance, is it a dull pain, or is it burning or throbbing?
Do not be afraid to tell your provider about factors or conditions that might worsen your pain. Feel free to discuss your pain patterns – i.e., constant pain or intermittent episodes.
Honesty is critical here. Your healthcare provider is not there to judge based on what you talk about. But they do need accurate information to help you make good decisions about your treatment plan. So don't downplay or exaggerate your pain. Keep it real.
A big part of pain management is helping restore function. As function is restored, pain can be alleviated. Your healthcare provider really needs to know the details of your day-to-day functioning in order to address how to improve it.
Discuss everything from your daily activities to your quality of life. Explain how pain impacts work and leisure. Talk about how it affects your sleep, your mood, and even your relationships.
Patients new to pain medicine should be extra diligent about informing their providers of any previous treatments. Your pain management provider wants to know what therapies you have already tried and how well they worked.
Along those same lines, your provider needs to know about any therapies you currently use. This includes everything from prescription medications to complementary therapies, and even illicit drugs. Your provider needs to know as much as possible so as to avoid negative interactions and uncomfortable side effects.
Also in this category is your medical history. Other conditions you have, or may have had, could be contributing factors to your pain. Any family history of pain conditions is also relevant to your case.
Be sure to talk with your pain management provider about your normal lifestyle. Why? Because certain lifestyle factors can contribute to, or alleviate, pain. Your provider wants to focus on those lifestyle choices that help you feel better. If some of your lifestyle choices are aggravating your pain, your provider is likely to recommend avoiding them.
Finally, your pain management provider really needs to know about your goals and preferences. What are you hoping to get out of pain medicine? What are your preferences in terms of traditional, alternative, and complementary therapies? We want you to be in control of your healthcare. And that includes aligning on your goals and preferences.
Pain management providers ask lots of questions. They do so because patient answers inform their understanding of how to proceed. As a patient, you can help increase the chances of a positive outcome by offering as much information as you can. The more information you can provide, the better the collaboration between you and your provider.
If a nurse practitioner ever wants to know a patient's blood pressure, it is easily measured with a blood pressure cuff and a watch. If a GP is curious about a patient's cholesterol levels, ordering a blood test takes care of it. That's not the way pain works. There is no definitive lab test for measuring pain. In fact, how doctors go about it can be an eye-opening experience.
In short, doctors and advanced practice nurses rely mainly on four tools for measuring pain:
Even with these tools in play, pain measurement is subjective. Doctors need to rely almost exclusively on a combination of what patients tell them and what they observe with their own eyes. It is by far an inexact science. Could that be why managing chronic pain is so difficult? It is certainly part of the equation.
The first tool doctors use to measure pain involve scales rooted in patients' self-reported ratings of pain. In other words, doctors will ask patients to rate their pain based on some sort of scale. Four of the scales that immediately come to mind are:
The first scale relies on a number system. It could be the simplest one for most adults to understand. As for kids, they tend to be more responsive to the Faces Pain Scale because it allows them to choose from a series of facial expressions to describe how severe their pain is.
Under the multidimensional questionnaires category are two tools healthcare providers tend to utilize with chronic pain patients. They are considered multidimensional because they offer more comprehensive assessments.
The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) questionnaire focuses mainly on pain intensity and how it has impacted a patient's daily function over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) seeks to assess pain severity by asking patients to describe it using words of their own choosing.
There are times when doctors struggle to communicate with pain patients via traditional means. Perhaps a doctor is trying to assess pain in someone with cognitive impairment, for example. In such cases, observational practices can take advantage of things like facial expressions, body movements, and even whether a patient can be adequately consoled.
Observational assessments of pain are demonstrably more difficult because a healthcare provider can never really know for sure what is going on in a patient's mind. But combined with functional assessments, observations can be pretty revealing.
Speaking of functional assessments, they actually tell us quite a bit about pain. Imagine someone complaining about persistent pain in the back. The doctor can ask the patient to rate their pain using what is known as the Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity (PEG) scale to better understand how it is affecting the patient's general activities and enjoyment of life.
They can also observe how the patient moves in a functional sense. How do they stand, walk, bend, and so forth? Limited function combined with a high PEG rating would suggest serious pain.
The truth of the matter is that treating pain is challenging because measuring it is also challenging. This reality explains why pain medicine is now a specialty. It is something we specialize in here at KindlyMD. If you are living with chronic pain for which you have found no relief in any other way, perhaps we can help.
Pain is a topic that can be discussed from an almost limitless number of angles. There are just so many aspects to it that pain is very difficult to put in a box. So it stands to reason that managing pain is similar. There is no one-size-fits-all way to do it for every person. Enter the Utah Med Card.
Historically, the U.S. has been reluctant to embrace the plant-based medicines made available through the Utah Med Card. We will not get into the reasons why. Rather, we have seen a growing acceptance of those medicines in recent years, especially for treating chronic pain. We have made such incredible strides that the KindlyMD team is confident in saying that the Utah Med Card is a legitimate option for managing pain.
Although Utah's Med Card program has been active for several years now, there are still plenty of chronic pain patients who either haven't heard of it or don't know how it works. The good news is that the program is fairly simple. As previously stated, a Med Card gives a patient access to plant-based medicines that are not available otherwise.
These are medicines that aren't available by traditional prescription. They also are not sold down at the chain pharmacy. They are dispensed only through state-licensed pharmacies to patients with active Med Cards.
One of the things we do here at KindlyMD is help eligible patients get their cards. If you have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition, our care team can evaluate your health and then recommend you for a Med Card. Then it is as simple as completing an online application form and paying a small fee. Truly, the process of getting a Med Card isn't difficult.
Obtaining a Utah Med Card is just the start of the journey toward feeling work alongside you with a range of additional services designed to help you feel better.
It has been said that using a Med Card and its associated plant-based medicines to manage pain is more of a journey than anything else. We cannot argue with such sentiments. For so many patients, managing pain is not a matter of taking a single drug or undergoing a single procedure followed by the pain immediately stopping. That's why we discuss chronic pain in terms of management rather than healing.
After getting your Med Card, you are likely going to need additional care to improve the way you feel. Our team is here to provide it.
One last thing we would like to encourage you before closing this post is the idea of the Utah Med Card being worth considering. We have no way of knowing where you are or how pain is affecting you. However, we do know that it is not uncommon for chronic pain patients to try every traditional treatment and still find very little relief.
Med Cards are available to chronic pain patients in Utah. You have nothing to lose by getting your card and beginning a journey with plant-based medicines. If the Med Card and its medicines don't work for you, you've only lost a little bit of time along with a minimal application fee. But if you do find the relief that you're after, the time and effort you put into getting your card will pay for itself.
Our approach to pain management is a little bit different. Here at KindlyMD, we are not convinced that the best way to help patients manage chronic pain is to simply write a prescription. Chronic pain is a very personal thing that patients experience in different ways. As such, we prefer a comprehensive care approach.
There is nothing to be afraid of when you hear the term 'comprehensive care'. It doesn't automatically equate to costly medical bills and complicated procedures, along with a battery of tests that may or may not provide legitimate answers. Our approach to comprehensive care is about tailoring services to each patient based on individual need.
Tailored treatment plans give us the opportunity to look at a variety of therapies and treatment options without having to settle for what traditional medicine claims will always work. We have always believed in “meeting patients where they are.” Everyone has a unique set of circumstances surrounding their health, and we know that the most effective healthcare is personalized. Tailoring treatments allow us to meet each patient wherever they happen to be. When all is said and done, we ultimately want the patient to be in total control of how they are treated.
We do not shy away from the fact that the Utah Med Card is something we frequently recommend to chronic pain patients. A Med Card gives a patient access to plant-based medicines that are out of bounds otherwise. As it turns out, the number one complaint cited by individuals who apply for Med Cards is chronic pain.
One of the things that makes the Utah Med Card so important is that it gives chronic pain patients access to treatments that are far different from anything they have tried to date. And when a patient has been dealing with chronic pain for years with little to no relief, alternative treatments are almost always welcome. It has been our experience that long term chronic pain patients will try just about anything to get relief.
Plant-based medicines are alternatives to traditional medications. They are not the answer for every chronic pain patient, but they are amazingly effective for tens of thousands of them throughout Utah. Given the success rates the Beehive State has seen with plant-based medicines, we would be providing less than the best possible care by not offering them.
Comprehensive care for chronic pain management needs to include mental health services. Why? Because there is an undeniable link between chronic pain and conditions like depression and anxiety. A person suffering with long term chronic pain has a higher risk of being diagnosed with at least one mental health condition.
Truth be told, there is a relationship between what people think and how they feel, both physically and emotionally. We believe it is important to treat the physical and mental aspects of chronic pain together. Therefore, our comprehensive care approach to pain management is holistic in nature. Our goal is to treat the entire patient as a whole, not just address pain as a symptom.
The last component in our comprehensive care approach to pain management involves medications. Whether a patient takes traditional prescription drugs or alternative medications, their meds need to be managed. They need to be managed to account for changes in patient health and responsiveness.
Treating chronic pain effectively requires abandoning the one-size-fits-all approach in favor of a more comprehensive mindset. Chronic pain patients deserve no less. At KindlyMD, we take chronic pain seriously. We employ a comprehensive care approach fully supported by tailored treatment plans that account for each patient's individual needs and health concerns.
Obtaining a medical card in Utah is a vital step for individuals seeking access to medical canna-medicine for various health conditions. Medical canna-therapy, when prescribed by a qualified medical professional, can provide relief for a range of ailments, from chronic pain to PTSD. However, for many, the process of acquiring a Utah medical card can be scary and expensive! Don't worry, in this quick guide, we will walk you through the steps on how to get the best deal on a medical card in Utah, ensuring you receive the care you need without breaking the bank.
The Fastest and Simplest Way
Call 801-851-5554 and ask what the best deal on a Utah Medical Card is right now.
Utah Medical Card Deals
The best deals happen twice a year - 4/20 and Black Friday. However, there are other deals happening all throughout the year. At KindlyMD, we try to have an active promotion happening all the time, but the best deals happen on 4/20 and Black Friday.
Get it Covered by Insurance
Medicare
Select Health
If you are covered by one of these two insurances and you have a qualifying medical condition you may be eligible for coverage. Utah's medical marijuana program has an approved list of conditions that can be treated with medical cannabis. These conditions include, but are not limited to, chronic pain, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease. Pain is the most common qualifying medical condition.
Use your HSA
Many may not be aware that a medical cannabis card, prescribed for certain health conditions, qualifies as a legitimate medical expense eligible for HSA funds. By leveraging this approach, individuals can utilize pre-tax dollars to cover the costs associated with obtaining and renewing their medical cannabis card. This not only provides a financial advantage but also promotes responsible healthcare planning. It's essential to check with local regulations and HSA providers for specific guidelines, but strategically using HSA funds for a medical cannabis card can be a savvy and legal way to manage healthcare expenses effectively.
Where to Get the Best Deal? We'll make it easy and guide you to a convenient location.
4. KindlyMD | Utah Medical Card Services in Ogden, UT
How Much Is the state fee for a Medical Card in Utah?
As of the last available information in 2023, the application fee for a medical card was $15. This fee is non-refundable and covers the cost of processing your application.
When Will I Get My Card?
Immediately. While you are still in the KindlyMD office we will process your application. Upon approval from the state, you will walk out of the office with an active digital Utah Medical Card. You will also receive your physical Utah medical card in the mail. The card is typically valid for one year, and you can apply for a renewal as long as your qualifying condition still requires medical cannabis treatment.
Dispensary Coupons
Ask KindlyMD about dispensary coupons! Our partner dispensaries often offer major discounts for new Medical Card holders. With your Utah medical card in hand, you are now ready to visit a licensed dispensary to purchase medical cannabis. Utah has a limited number of licensed dispensaries, so it's crucial to research and find the one that best suits your needs and offers competitive prices. Having your medical card will allow you to purchase medical cannabis at a discounted rate compared to recreational users, providing you with the best deal on your medication.
What do I do if my Medical Card is not approved? Can I buy cannabis without a Medical Card?
If you are not approved or simply do not have the budget to purchase a Utah Medical Card we have great option for you. Visit https://kindlymdstore.com/. The KindlyMD Store sells 100% federally legal medical grade cannabis gummies. These gummies are top of the line quality and are designed specifically for medical support. Each product contains specific cannabinoids for specific health concerns. Stop in our physical location at 5097 S 900 E Suite 100, Murray UT 84117 to browse our products or call 801-851-5554 for assistance.
Conclusion
Obtaining a Utah medical card is a multi-step process yet simple through the KindlyMD process. If you're dealing with a qualifying medical condition and believe that medical cannabis could offer relief, don't hesitate to start the process of obtaining your Utah medical card. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure that you receive the best deal on your medical card and, more importantly, access the care you need to improve your quality of life. Call 801-851-5554 and ask about the current promotion.
One of the frequently asked questions we get at KindlyMD is what makes us different from other pain management clinics. The question is rooted in the reality that patients feel as though they are being judged or looked down on when seeking relief from chronic pain. We find the stigma associated with chronic pain to be disheartening, to say the least.
The sad truth is that our patients frequently talk of how their friends and family say their pain is all in their heads. That says nothing of strangers who look down on them because they are not fully functional.
We understand the stigma. We see it every day. In fact, offering a way to overcome it was one of the motivations for establishing KindlyMD in the first place. Having to live with chronic pain is bad enough. We don't want patients to have to live with the stigma, too. We come alongside them with alternative treatments, education, and support – all with the goal of helping patients take their lives back.
Pain is unlike any other symptom or medical condition. It is an incredibly personal thing that cannot be measured by a blood test or medical imaging. In fact, the only way clinicians can gauge pain is with an arbitrary scale based on patient reports. If a patient tells a KindlyMD clinician that they are in excruciating pain, we have to take the complaint at face value.
We don't mind being in that position. Acceptance and compassion are part of our mission. We get the fact that family members and friends do not always react the same way. Their reactions are understandable to a certain extent. Why? Because they cannot see the pain. They do not feel it themselves. All they can do is observe the patient. And unfortunately, sometimes what they perceive doesn't match reality.
People who have never experienced chronic pain have trouble wrapping their brains around another reality: pain does more than hurt. When chronic pain is part of your life, what you feel in your body can have a devastating impact on how you feel emotionally.
Chronic pain can also affect you mentally. It can inhibit your ability to think clearly. Pain can make it difficult for you to understand your surroundings, plan for the future, or even make decisions that come easy for other people.
All of this may sound bizarre to someone who has never experienced chronic pain. It might even sound a bit far-fetched. Please believe us when we say that it is all real. And it all adds to chronic pain's stigma just because people don't understand it.
You might be reading this post even though you've never experienced chronic pain yourself. You are curious because a loved one experiences chronic pain. If that's the case, here's some good news: you can help your loved one start feeling better, work on overcoming the stigma, and begin the process of taking their life back.
The KindlyMD approach to treating chronic pain starts with acceptance. From there, we move to exploring plant-based medicines, managing current medications, and taking advantage of the help behavioral health clinicians can offer. Ours is a holistic approach that doesn't seek to merely write prescriptions and send patients on their way. We believe it is a better approach.
If you or a loved one knows the stigma of chronic pain, we hope you will reach out to us for help. We genuinely want to do what we can to make a difference.
What if we told you there could be a way to manage your chronic pain by reducing your consumption of prescription pain medications? Your first thought might be that our team is crazy. If that's the case, we get it. But give us the opportunity to explain how reducing prescription pain meds can be a path toward better pain management.
The KindlyMD approach to pain management has been described on more than one occasion as being non-traditional. That is not a bad thing. In fact, we consider such assessments a complement. Why? Because we want to be different. We designed our approach to pain management to be non-traditional. A big part of it is helping patients work toward reducing their dependence on prescription pain meds.
We developed our approach to pain medicine based on the understanding that certain types of prescription pain meds are not a long-term solution. At some point, patients need to stop taking them. The problem is that stopping cold turkey just does not work. Many patients trying to cut down on prescription pain meds still need some other means of pain relief.
Our clinicians can continue prescribing pain medications as needed. However, we also seek to educate patients about other options. Those options include the Utah Medical Card and access to the plant-based medicines it affords.
The idea behind educating patients about the Med Card is to offer an avenue for gradually reducing their reliance on prescription pain meds. It is entirely possible to begin a plant-based medicine regimen that allows patients to consider not taking their prescription pain meds as often. We have also seen cases in which patients stop their prescription meds altogether.
We cannot make any such guarantees for any patient in particular. All we can do is present the possibilities and educate along the way. Ultimately, each patient responds to plant-based medicines differently. We understand that. We are okay with that.
We have seen plant-based medicines work for a lot of chronic pain patients. And when that happens, amazing things tend to follow. Patients really do experience better pain management while simultaneously reducing their dependence on prescription meds. It is really amazing thing to see.
What we do seems foreign to so many people because we have been locked into traditional pharmacologically based medicine for such a long time. Our Western healthcare system is based entirely on the pharmacological approach. But understand that Western medicine is comparatively new.
Ancient cultures relied on plant-based medicines long before modern pharmacology ever existed. Plant-based medicines have a long and rich history behind them. That history is something we leverage on behalf of our patients. We are happy to do so because we know that plant-based medicines work.
We do not want you to finish this post and assume that we have guaranteed you pain relief with plant-based medicines. We cannot make any guarantees of that nature. All we can say is that plant-based medicines are worth looking into. You can do that by scheduling your first consultation at any one of our clinics.
There is a very real possibility that plant-based medicines could offer you better pain management even while you reduce your consumption of prescription pain meds. But before we make that decision, let us start with a consultation.
The KindlyMD team is here to work with you to help you feel better. Just know that you are ultimately in control of your healthcare and any decisions you make. We are here to work with you as a partner in better pain management.
