Michael Von Korff has carried out groundbreaking research on the management and outcomes of chronic pain, depression, and other illnesses in primary care settings. His work as an epidemiologist and health services researcher focuses on understanding how patients adapt to chronic illnesses associated with pain and psychological distress, including how they use health care services and cope with illness in their daily lives.

Dr. Von Korff has co-led major randomized trials examining various approaches to chronic illness management in primary care, including collaborative care for depression and interventions to improve self-care of chronic-recurrent back pain. A major focus throughout his career has been studying mental-physical comorbidity and how patients manage distressing physical symptoms. This research has included a series of longitudinal studies of disability and health care use among primary care patients with depression, back pain, headache, or other chronic pain conditions. More recently, his research has focused on trends and risks of long-term prescription of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain.

In January 2010, Dr. Von Korff and colleagues published the first-ever study on overdose risk by dose among patients receiving prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. That study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, linked higher risk of fatal and nonfatal overdose to higher daily dose prescribed. His research also showed that Group Health, like other health systems nationwide, had been prescribing more opioids for chronic non-cancer pain over time—a twofold increase from 1997 to 2005.

Recognizing the importance of provider education, Group Health's Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Randi Beck, MD, partnered with Dr. Von Korff to develop an online clinician education course explaining Group Health's new guidelines on opioid prescribing. Funded by a Partnership for Innovation grant from the Group Health Foundation, the course aims to help primary care providers implement recommended practice changes. The work was also funded by grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Aging.  

Dr. Von Korff has published more than 270 papers in peer-reviewed journals on mental health, pain, and chronic illness. In 1997, he was selected as a fellow of AcademyHealth and of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. In 2002, the Institute for Scientific Information recognized him as one of the nation's most highly cited scientists in psychiatry and behavioral sciences. He has served as an advisor to major World Health Organization initiatives related to disability and mental health. He also served as GHRI's Associate Director for Research from 1992 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2005.

Related information:

• National Institute on Drug Abuse
• National Institute on Aging
• Changing Chronic Pain Management & Use of Opioids (online clinician education program)
• AcademyHealth
• Society of Behavioral Medicine

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Recent publications

Lin EH, Von Korff M, Ciechanowski P, Peterson D, Ludman EJ, Rutter CM, Oliver M, Young BA, Gensichen J, McGregor M, McCulloch DK, Wagner EH, Katon WJ. Treatment adjustment and medication adherence for complex patients with diabetes, heart disease, and depression: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(1):6-14. PubMed

Huang H, Russo J, Von Korff M, Ciechanowski P, Lin E, Ludman E, Katon W. The effect of changes in depressive symptoms on disability status in patients with diabetes. Psychosomatics. 2012;53(1):21-9. PubMed

Von Korff M, Katon WJ, Lin EH, Ciechanowski P, Peterson D, Ludman EJ, Young B, Rutter CM. Functional outcomes of multi-condition collaborative care and successful ageing: results of randomised trial. BMJ. 2011 Nov 10;343:d6612. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d6612. PubMed

McCurry SM, Von Korff M, Vitiello MV, Saunders K, Balderson BH, Moore AL, Rybarczyk BD. Frequency of comorbid insomnia, pain, and depression in older adults with osteoarthritis: predictors of enrollment in a randomized treatment trial. J Psychosom Res. 2011;71(5):296-9. Epub 2011 Jul 1. PubMed

Dublin S, Walker RL, Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Weiss NS, Von Korff M, Jackson LA. Use of opioids or benzodiazepines and risk of pneumonia in older adults: a population-based case-control study. J Am Geriatr Soc. Epub 2011 Sept 13. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03586.x PubMed

Von Korff M, Kolodny A, Deyo RA, Chou R. Long-term opioid therapy reconsidered. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Sep 6;155(5):325-8. PubMed

Reid MC, Bennett DA, Chen WG, Eldadah BA, Farrar JT, Ferrell B, Gallagher RM, Hanlon JT, Herr K, Horn SD, Inturrisi CE, Lemtouni S, Lin YW, Michaud K, Morrison RS, Neogi T, Porter LL, Solomon DH, Von Korff M, Weiss K, Witter J, Zacharoff KL. Improving the pharmacologic management of pain in older adults: identifying the research gaps and methods to address them. Pain Med. 2011 Sep;12(9):1336-57. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01211.x. Epub 2011 Aug 11. PubMed

Scott KM, Von Korff M, Angermeyer MC, Benjet C, Bruffaerts R, de Girolamo G, Haro JM, Lepine JP, Ormel J, Posada-Villa J, Tachimori H, Kessler RC. Association of childhood adversities and early-onset mental disorders with adult-onset chronic physical conditions. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(8):838-44. PubMed

Trescott CE, Beck RM, Seelig MD, Von Korff MR. Group Health's initiative to avert opioid misuse and overdose among patients with chronic noncancer pain. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011;30(8):1420-4. PubMed

Silverberg MJ, Ray GT, Saunders K, Rutter CM, Campbell CI, Merrill JO, Sullivan MD, Banta-Green CJ, Von Korff M, Weisner C. Prescription long-term opioid use in HIV-infected patients. Clin J Pain. 2011 Jun 14 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

To view more publications, please see Dr. Von Korff's CV.

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