Pain and Addiction Special Interest Group
Who We Are
The mission of the AAEM Pain and Addiction Special Interest Group is to provide safe, effective, and efficient analgesia and procedural sedation in the ED and address and treat addiction in a patient-centered, evidence-based manner free of commercial bias. This mission is accomplished by disseminating and sharing knowledge, creating pain and addiction management guidelines, promoting advanced concepts in pain management, sedation, and addiction management, and fostering multi-specialty collaborations. Our goal is to serve as a forum for AAEM members who share an interest in pain, addiction, and sedation, as well as to act as a liaison between AAEM leadership and issues that arise in these domains.
Objectives
- Collaboration with the Emergency Medical Services Section on a white paper focused on the prehospital use of ketamine.
- Advising the Academy on issues surrounding pain management and addiction medicine and identifying opportunities for advocacy.
- Provide educational content on the most current and relevant topics related to the management of pain and addiction for the benefit of AAEM members and all emergency physicians.
Leadership
Michelle Romeo, MD FAAEM
Chair
Robert P. Lam, MD FAAEM
Board Liaison
Kiran Kuhn
Staff Liaison
Our Projects
The Pain and Addiction Special Interest Group contributed to a new white paper examining the role of emergency physicians in addressing nicotine use. Emergency Department Management of Nicotine Use: A White Paper Prepared for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine provides practical, evidence-based guidance for identifying nicotine use, initiating treatment, and supporting cessation from the emergency department.
The article was published on September 7, 2026.
Read the Article-
Statement on Buprenorphine Initiation and Prescribing in the Emergency Department
It is the position of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine that Emergency Physicians (EPs) offer to administer and prescribe buprenorphine for the management of opioid use disorder (OUD). As fatal opioid overdoses continue to be a public health crisis across the United States, we believe that EPs have a unique ability and responsibility to […] -
Joint Letter Urging Congress to Pass the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (S. 644/H.R. 1359)
Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader Jeffries, Minority Leader McConnell, Chair Rodgers, Ranking Member Pallone, Chair Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, Chair Sanders, and Ranking Member Cassidy: The undersigned organizations, representing a broad base of stakeholders, write today to urge legislators to include S. 644/H.R. 1359 – the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA) […] -
Management of Opioid Use Disorder in the Emergency Department: A White Paper Prepared for AAEM
Over 2 million Americans misuse prescription or illicitly-obtained opioids, and opioid overdose deaths rose to a record 47,600 in 2017, representing a nearly 600% increase in 18 years. (NCHS 2019, NIH 2019) Because patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) are often socioeconomically and functionally marginalized, the primary point of contact with healthcare for many is […] -
AAEM White Paper on Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department
AAEM White Paper on Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department Sergey Motov, MD FAAEM Reuben Strayer, MD FRCP FAAEM Bryan Hayes, PharmD Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM Steven Rosenbaum, MD FAAEM Melanie Richman, MD FAAEM Zachary Repanshek, MD FAAEM Scott Taylor, MBBS Benjamin Friedman, MD FAAEM Effective, efficient, and safe pain management is […]
- A Multi-State Solution to Linking People with Substance Use Disorder to High Quality Treatment by Joshua Lynch, DO FACEP and Lucy Connery, MPH, January/February 2025
- Stepping Up Your NRT Game: Nicotine Replacement Basics for the Emergency Physician by Jessica Moore, MD FAAEM, November/December 2024
- Xylazine: Coming to an ER Near You by Jessica Moore, MD FAAEM, July/August 2024
- A Rose by Any Other Name: Tertiary Prevention for Opioid Use Disorder by Jessica Moore, MD FAAEM, March/April 2024
- The Golden Hour: Buprenorphine Prescribing from the Emergency Department by Jessica Moore, MD, May/June 2023
AAEM, with assistance from the AAEM Pain and Addiction Committee, signed on to a letter today asking Congressional leaders to pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT Act, H.R. 2482, S. 2074).
“In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the twelve undersigned organizations representing behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment providers and public health advocates write to encourage Congress to pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT Act, H.R. 2482, S. 2074). This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would remove the federal barrier established by the DATA 2000 Act that requires health care practitioners to obtain a waiver from Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) before prescribing buprenorphine, one of three drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat opioid use disorder (OUD)…”
This letter was signed by:
American Academy of Emergency Medicine
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Medical Toxicology
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Community Catalyst
Drug Policy Alliance
Harm Reduction Coalition
National Association of Attorneys General
National Council for Behavioral Health
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
Shatterproof
The Pew Charitable Trusts
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