About Dr Arun Bhaskar

MBBS, MSc, FRCA, FFPMRCA, FFICM, FIPP, EDPM | GMC: 4761448

Dr Arun Bhaskar is a leading consultant in pain medicine in London, who holds a special interest in complex pain, including neuropathic pain, cancer pain, visceral and pelvic pain, pain interventions and neuromodulation. He also holds a particular interest in opioid management in complicated cancer pain and opioid dependence and its management in the pain patient population.

Dr Bhaskar graduated from the University of Kerala, India and completed his specialist training at the Northwest Deanery, UK.  He started his consultant career at the world-renowned cancer hospital, The Christie in Manchester where he established the Pain service.

Dr Bhaskar has been involved with several clinical trials in cancer pain, and neuropathic pain in cancer including chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.  He has been involved in developing novel techniques for interventional treatment of pain including intractable cancer pain.

Dr Bhaskar is on the faculty of many courses, including the European Pain School, and is an examiner for the European Diploma in Pain Medicine and also the FIPP examination for the World Institute of Pain.  Dr Bhaskar was also the past-Chair of the Northwest Pain Clinicians, UK member of the scientific committee for European Pain Federation, EFIC 2017 and was also the Co-chair of the International Meeting of the Spinal Interventional Society, London 2018. Dr Bhaskar has also represented the Faculty of Pain Medicine in the Palliative Medicine SAC, Royal College of Physicians.

Dr Bhaskar writes a regular column in the Pain News and serves as section editor for the Journal of Observational Pain Medicine.  He regularly publishes in peer-reviewed journals and has been a member of several guidelines development groups for pain management including interventional management of pain, opioids and cannabinoids .

Dr Bhaskar is currently based in the south of England with practices in London and his NHS commitment is as Head of Service at the Pain Management Centre at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London.

 

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional."

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Qualifications and experiences

Professional Affiliations

  • The British Pain Society (President)
  • World Institute of Pain (Section Chair, UK)
  • Neuromodulation Society of United Kingdom & Ireland (Hon. Secretary)
  • International Association for Study of Pain (Councillor for UK)
  • European Pain Federation (Councillor for UK)
  • World Society of Pain Clinicians (Hon. Secretary)
  • International Neuromodulation Society
  • Spine Intervention Society (International Education Committee Member)
  • Fellow of Royal College of Anaesthetists
  • Fellow of Faculty of Pain Medicine, RCoA – (Board Member)
  • Fellow of Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, RCoA
  • Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice, World Institute of Pain
  • The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Intensive Care Society
  • International Association of Substance Abuse and Chemical Dependency
  • Royal Society of Medicine
  • Manchester Medical Society
  • NICE GDG – Care of the Dying in Adults (Co-opted Member)
  • NICE committee on Interventional Procedures
  • London Pain Forum (Council Member)
  • Northwest Pain Group (Past-chair)

Education

  • MSc in Pain Medicine, Cardiff University (2016)
  • EDPM Conferred in Brussels (2019)
  • FIPP Passed in Budapest (2011)
  • FFICM Conferred in London (2011)
  • FFPMRCA Conferred in London (2008)
  • Final FRCA Exam, Passed in London (2003)
  • MBBS University of Kerala, India (1995)

Prizes and awards

  • Most Compassionate Junior Doctor, Sulabh C Arya Award, New Delhi, India (1995)
  • Cancer Team of the Year, for the pioneering work in treating peritoneal metastasis of colorectal origin with Cytoreduction and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (Clinical Lead for PTS Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine), The BMJ Awards, London (2013)

Recent Publications

Bhaskar A, Bell A, Boivin M, Briques W, Brown M, Clarke H, Cyr C, Eisenberg E, de Oliveira Silva RF, Frohlich E, Georgius P, Hogg M, Horsted TI, MacCallum CA, Müller-Vahl KR, O’Connell C, Sealey R, Seibolt M, Sihota A, Smith BK, Sulak D, Vigano A, Moulin DE. Consensus recommendations on dosing and administration of medical cannabis to treat chronic pain: results of a modified Delphi process. J Cannabis Res. 2021 Jul 2;3(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s42238-021-00073-1. PMID: 34215346; PMCID: PMC8252988. 

R. W. Hurley, M. C. B. Adams, M. Barad, A. Bhaskar, A. Bhatia, A. Chadwick, et al. Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group.  Pain Med 2021 Vol. 22 Issue 11 Pages 2443-2524. Accession Number: 34788462 PMCID: PMC8633772 DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnab281 Reg Anesth Pain Med 2022 Vol. 47 Issue 1 Pages 3-59  Accession Number: 34764220 DOI: 10.1136/rapm-2021-103031

Benzon, Honorio T. MD; Maus, Timothy P. MD; Kang, Hye-Ryun MD; Provenzano, David A. MD; Bhatia, Anuj MD; Diehn, Felix MD; Nelson, Ariana MD; McCormick, Zachary L. MD; Liu, Benjamin P. MD; de Andres Ares, Javier MD; Anitescu, Magdalena MD; Blackham, Kristine MD; Bhaskar, Arun MD; Brill, Silviu MD; Collins, Jeremy MD; Gulve, Ashish MD; Hurley, Robert W. MD; Jeon, Young Hoon MD; Moon, Jee Youn MD; Rauck, Richard L. MD; Rodes, Meghan MD; Lee, Ryan K. MD; Shah, Vinil MD; Shanthanna, Harsha MD; van Zundert, Jan MD, PhD; Huntoon, Marc MD; Rathmell, James P. MD; Borges, Mario Sanchez MD; Cohen, Steven P. MD; Greenberger, Paul A. MD The Use of Contrast Agents in Interventional Pain Procedures: A Multispecialty and Multisociety Practice Advisory on Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, Gadolinium Deposition in the Brain, Encephalopathy After Unintentional Intrathecal Gadolinium Injection, and Hypersensitivity Reactions, Anesthesia & Analgesia: March 23, 2021 – Volume – Issue 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005443. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005443

Cohen, S. P., Bhaskar, A., Bhatia, A., Buvanendran, A., Deer, T., Garg, S., Hooten, W. M., Hurley, R. W., Kennedy, D. J., McLean, B. C., Moon, J. Y., Narouze, S., Pangarkar, S., Provenzano, D. A., Rauck, R., Sitzman, B. T., Smuck, M., van Zundert, J., Vorenkamp, K., Wallace, M. S., … Zhao, Z. (2020). Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group. Regional anesthesia and pain medicine, 45(6), 424–467. https://doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2019-101243

Bhaskar A . Interventional pain management in patients with cancer-related pain. Postgrad Med. 2020;Accepted for publication. doi:10.1080/00325481.2020.1807796.

Foo I, Macfarlane AJR, Srivastava D, Bhaskar A, Barker H, Knaggs R, Eipe N, Smith AF. The use of intravenous lidocaine for postoperative pain and recovery: international consensus statement on efficacy and safety. Anaesthesia. 2021 Feb;76(2):238-250. doi: 10.1111/anae.15270. Epub 2020 Nov 3. PMID: 33141959.

Gottschling S, Ayonrinde O, Bhaskar A, Blockman M, D’Agnone O, Schecter D, Suárez Rodríguez LD, Yafai S, Cyr C. Safety Considerations in Cannabinoid-Based Medicine. Int J Gen Med. 2020 Dec 1;13:1317-1333. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S275049. PMID: 33299341; PMCID: PMC7720894.

Kraus M, Lintzeris N, Bhaskar A, Alho H, Alon E, Bouhassira D, Haro G, D’Agnone O, Dematteis M, Kern KU, Maremmani I, Perrot S, Sittl R, Pellicano K. Consensus and Controversies Between Pain and Addiction Experts on the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder. J Addict Med. 2020 Jan/Feb;14(1):1-11. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000577. PMID: 31743124.

Bennett, M. I., Eisenberg, E., Ahmedzai, S. H., Bhaskar, A., O’Brien, T., Mercadante, S., Krčevski Škvarč, N., Vissers, K., Wirz, S., Wells, C., & Morlion, B. (2019). Standards for the management of cancer-related pain across Europe-A position paper from the EFIC Task Force on Cancer Pain. European journal of pain (London, England), 23(4), 660–668. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1346

Thottungal A, Kumar P, Bhaskar A. Interventions for myofascial pain syndrome in cancer pain: recent advances: why, when, where and how. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2019 Sep;13(3):262-269. doi: 10.1097/SPC.0000000000000446. PMID: 31348012.

Keppel Hesselink, J. M., Kopsky, D. J., & Bhaskar, A. K. (2019). Ethical justification of single-blind and double-blind placebo-controlled response tests in neuropathic pain and N-of-1 treatment paradigm in clinical settings. Journal of pain research, 12, 345–352. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S180792