Dr. Jinghui Xie helps patients with opioid use disorder through medication-assisted treatment option
Opioid medications often are prescribed to reduce severe and chronic pain. However, while they’re intended for short-term, acute pain management, for many patients, these powerful prescriptions can create negative consequences and unfortunately become addictive.
It can be extremely difficult to stop using them without an expert’s assistance after developing a dependence on painkillers. Debilitating withdrawal symptoms are the first to impact the patient, in addition to the return of the painful condition that led them to originally seek out opioids.
Jinghui Xie, MD/PhD, pain management physician at Caring Pain Management, was recently approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), dependence and addiction through Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), using Buprenorphine products such as Suboxone, Subutex and Naloxone.
With offices in Montclair and Metuchen, Dr. Xie said that these prescription medications provide the tools needed to help those who suffer from OUD.
“They can help patients with initial withdrawal symptoms,” she said. “They also have benefits for addressing pain, and the side effects are low.”
When taken as prescribed, buprenorphine is safe and effective in helping patients decrease their dependence on opioids, Dr. Xie said.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, buprenorphine’s special pharmacological properties assist with:
- Decreasing the potential for misuse
- Decreasing the effects of physical dependency to opioids such as withdrawal symptoms and cravings
- Increasing safety in cases of overdose
“The people who need this are typically those who have been on opioids for a long time and don’t want to be on them anymore,” Dr. Xie said.
Caring Pain Management treats patients who are at the beginning stages of getting off opioids as well as those who have been to a rehabilitation center for their dependence and wish to restart a prescription or ensure that their dosage is accurate.
“Patients come in bi-weekly to monthly, and the medications are reviewed and patients are re-evaluated,” Dr. Xie said. “They get tested to make sure the medication in their system.”
When individuals want to stop taking opioids, without the help of MAT, there is a high risk for them to return to their dependence on opioids.
Board-certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Dr. Xie said that this long-term treatment is usually part of an extensive and comprehensive plan that may also include behavioral therapy, counseling and pain management, which is her area of expertise.
In her practice, Dr. Xie diagnoses and treats patients who suffer from conditions such as back pain, joint pain, neck pain, herniated discs and degenerative disc/joint disease. She and her highly trained staff provide a wide variety of pain relief options, including trigger point injections, epidural injection, platelet-rich plasma injections, nerve blocks and minimally invasive spine surgeries.
“A lot of patients also have a pain syndrome," said Dr. Xie, who speaks English and Mandarin fluently. “They sometimes also have psychiatric conditions. We have psychologists working with us that we can refer them to, and we have in-house pain management. That’s what we do every day.”
For those patients who need more scheduling flexibility or want to be treated remotely, Caring Pain Management offers telehealth services, which consist of patients scheduling an appointment with Dr. Xie through phone or website and having a virtual visit through their phone/computer screen.
“It’s very convenient,” Dr. Xie said. “We offer extended hours and I can see them any time they want. If you work, I can schedule an appointment for later in the evening or on the weekend. We have easy-to-use, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) software that protects patients’ privacy.”
For more information please call (973) 893-5772 for appointments and general inquiries. You can also read the original feature article on Dr. Jinghui Xie on Jersey's Best Magazine here and also on NJ.com.