Pain medicine specialists work with patients to relieve suffering and discomfort that may be present during a medical or surgical procedure, or because of a disease or condition. An anesthesiologist is a physician who has had special training and is board-certified in pain management. A pain medicine specialist can be an anesthesiologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist. This specialist is either the primary physician, or acts as a consultant, to coordinate a patient’s care with other physicians.

For chronic or severe pain, narcotics are often used. Narcotics carry with them a potential for side effects and addiction, so patients and physicians must weigh the level of pain against these concerns in the pain management process.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 5,797 practicing pain medicine doctors. Broken out by state, pain medicine doctor density in Alabama is 80, in Alaska is 17, in Arizona is 116, in Arkansas is 40, in California is 658, in Colorado is 100, in Connecticut is 83, in Delaware is 36, in District of Columbia is 33, in Florida is 486, in Georgia is 171, in Hawaii is 22, in Idaho is 14, in Illinois is 303, in Indiana is 149, in Iowa is 65, in Kansas is 66, in Kentucky is 84, in Louisiana is 95, in Maine is 41, in Maryland is 196, in Massachusetts is 157, in Michigan is 184, in Minnesota is 74, in Mississippi is 49, in Missouri is 148, in Montana is 22, in Nebraska is 18, in Nevada is 57, in New Hampshire is 37, in New Jersey is 237, in New Mexico is 34, in New York is 456, in North Carolina is 160, in North Dakota is 6, in Ohio is 274, in Oklahoma is 54, in Oregon is 55, in Pennsylvania is 385, in Rhode Island is 13, in South Carolina is 99, in South Dakota is 10, in Tennessee is 95, in Texas is 486, in Utah is 49, in Vermont is 10, in Virginia is 152, in Washington is 123, in West Virginia is 54, in Wisconsin is 130, and in Wyoming is 6.