Worried About Opioid Addiction?

Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 pm. at Orcas Fire Hall

— from Dr. Vincent Shu —

Dr. Vincent Shu

Vincent Shu, MD, will address the opioid painkiller epidemic in his presentation “Early Usage of Acupuncture for Pain Management to Prevent Drug Addiction” at the Eastsound Fire Hall on Oct. 28.

“To stop the opioid epidemic, it is imperative for early integration of non-pharmacologic approaches is essential and should be implemented in the treatment of patients with pain in the primary care clinic,” says Orcas Island physician Dr. Vincent Shu.

Pain is the most common reason patients are seen in Primary Care Clinics. An estimated 5-8 million American use opioids for long term management of chronic pain with resultant chemical dependency which negatively impacts their ability to lead a productive life. As a primary care physician, Dr. Shu has been using Acupuncture for pain management in his practice. After this presentation, participants should learn what leads to opioid addiction at the bio-molecular level from which a rationale solution with acupuncture for this problem would be discussed.

As marijuana (cannabis) has been legalized in the State of Washington, this has resulted in widespread usage of cannabis for a variety of reasons. One of which is for pain control. Is cannabis safe? Dr. Shu will also discuss the issue of cannabis addiction related to its chronic use with solutions suggested.

Approximately 25 million people are experiencing moderate to severe chronic pain. Pain is the primary reason Americans are on disability which adds to the economic and social burden of suffering for the nation. Chronic pain costs for the nation are estimated to be $560-630 billions per year.
The president of the American Medical Association, Steven Stack, MD, issued a call to action on the roles of physicians in “turning the tide of the opioid epidemic.”

Dr. Vincent Shu received his MD degree in Taiwan where he had training in western and eastern medicines. He completed his residency and fellowship trainings in UC Irvine, Univ. Of Southern California, UC David and UCSF HealthCare Systems. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Diseases. He was a former Associate Clinical Professor, UC Irvine College of Medicine, Department of Medicine. He taught medical students and residents, gave local and national presentations, conducted and published research projects at UC Irvine/Long Beach VA Medical Centers.

Dr. Shu has had the medical staff privileges at UC Irvine Medical Center, Long Beach VA Medical Center and Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in California as well as Peace Island Medical Center, Friday Harbor and Olympic Medical Center , Port Angeles, WA. He was a member in the R & D Committee at Long Beach VA Medical Center as well as a member in Pharmacy & Therapeutic and Critical Care Committees at Olympic Medical center. He served as Associate Chief of HEART ECHO Lab at Long Beach VA Medical Center.

Dr. Shu belongs to Professional Societies of Acupuncture Research Share Group , Master Tung/Dr. Tan Style Acupuncture and Scholars of Chinese Medicine.