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 9,026 practicing pain medicine doctors. Broken out by state, pain medicine doctor density in Alabama is 132, in Alaska is 25, in Arizona is 159, in Arkansas is 64, in California is 1,068, in Colorado is 137, in Connecticut is 104, in Delaware is 50, in District of Columbia is 34, in Florida is 716, in Georgia is 242, in Hawaii is 30, in Idaho is 24, in Illinois is 534, in Indiana is 214, in Iowa is 67, in Kansas is 100, in Kentucky is 142, in Louisiana is 111, in Maine is 89, in Maryland is 225, in Massachusetts is 211, in Michigan is 231, in Minnesota is 103, in Mississippi is 56, in Missouri is 182, in Montana is 36, in Nebraska is 37, in Nevada is 76, in New Hampshire is 50, in New Jersey is 336, in New Mexico is 46, in New York is 642, in North Carolina is 234, in North Dakota is 13, in Ohio is 366, in Oklahoma is 68, in Oregon is 72, in Pennsylvania is 438, in Rhode Island is 21, in South Carolina is 203, in South Dakota is 18, in Tennessee is 115, in Texas is 599, in Utah is 57, in Vermont is 19, in Virginia is 222, in Washington is 155, in West Virginia is 58, in Wisconsin is 139, and in Wyoming is 6.