NCtalks with Hance Clarke: opioid use and chronic pain


Hance Clarke is the Director of Pain Services and the Medical Director of the Pain Research Unit at the Toronto General Hospital (ON, Canada).  He is appointed to the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Royal College Clinician Scientist Program. His research interests include identifying novel acute pain treatments following major surgery, identifying the factors involved in the transition of acute postsurgical pain to chronic pain, studying the genetics of acute and chronic pain after surgery, and identifying risk factors associated with continued opioid use and poor health related quality of life after major surgery.  Dr Clarke was recently awarded the 2016 Early Career Award from the Canadian Pain Society and recognized nationally for his research productivity and improvements to patient care such as the development of his novel Transitional Pain Program.

In this interview, Dr Clarke discusses his recent paper in Pain Management, ‘Chronic postsurgical pain and persistent opioid use following surgery: the need for a transitional pain service’.