Management of chronic pain is a common and complex challenge in primary care. Patient-reported outcomes surveys can help assist the patient with chronic pain to communicate the symptoms to their provider and engage the patient in treatment planning and evaluation to improve both quality of care and patient outcomes. A web survey was used to assess clinic providers’ perceived ease of use, barriers to use, and clinical benefits of a patient-reported outcomes survey, termed PainTracker. More than half the respondents were satisfied with PainTracker and 76% of respondents agreed that PainTracker helps patients participate in their pain management. Although only a first step, this study helps evaluate the benefits of involving patients in their pain management care.

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Headache is among the most common and disabling of all neurological conditions but is far more treatable than is commonly thought. This chapter focuses on the recognition and precise diagnosis of the most significant headache types, including episodic and chronic migraine, posttraumatic headache, and cluster headache. Through precise questioning, the provider can quickly identify the headache as well as significant comorbidities and develop a treatment plan. Treatment outcomes are optimized by determining the most effective treatments for the specific headache conditions and developing a multimodal, comprehensive treatment plan that considers the patient’s diagnosis, other health issues, preferences, and lifestyle. New treatments are being developed in many areas, including medications, supplements, physical treatments, lifestyle modifications, and behavioral treatments. The newest headache treatments using neuromodulation and antibodies are also discussed, with recommendations for how to use them most effectively.

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