The national Opioids addiction that requires these innovations to stop

Opioid overdoses are now the leading cause of death in people under age 50. Tampa-based Physician Partners of America (PPOA) aims to stop it. The Tampa-based healthcare company uses interventional pain management to treat stubborn, chronic pain, so patients won’t need opioid medication.

“To fight the opioid epidemic, you need to dissuade people from using them in the first place,” said Abraham Rivera, M.D., PPOA’s chief medical officer. He recently gathered fellow pain doctors from around the state to an Opioid Summit in conjunction with the Florida Academy of Pain Medicine. Rivera is a board member.

Instead of opiates to dull the pain, interventional pain management uses minimally invasive procedures that pinpoint painful areas. These include nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, injections, and spinal cord stimulators.