OUR PHYSICIANS & STAFF

Our Center is staffed by a team of highly qualified expert physicians in the field of Pain Management. They are highly skilled and deeply committed. Their goal is to help patients achieve their maximum level of function and independence. They have received advanced training at Ivy League Medical Schools. They hold consulting appointments and faculty positions at the world-class medical institutions with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Pradeep Chopra, M.D. Director, Pain Management Center Pradeep Chopra completed his Anesthesia residency from Harvard Medical School. He then went on to complete his Fellowship in Pain Management, also from Harvard Medical School. He is the recipient of several awards including the John Hedley-Whyte Award in Critical Care Medicine and the Nancy E. Oriol Award in Obstetric Anesthesia. He holds the prestigious appointment of Assistant Professor (Clinical), Department of Medicine, Brown Medical School, Division of Biology and Medicine and Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology (Adjunct), Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Chopra is double Board Certified in Pain Management and Anesthesiology by the American Board of Anesthesiology. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME).

He is the author of several publications on Chronic Pain including several book chapters (see below).

He is a member of the editorial board for Journal of Cancer Pain and Symptom Palliation and Pain Physician.

Dr. Chopra has a keen interest in both Acute and Chronic Pain Management. His areas of interest are Back Pain, Neck Pain, Joint Pain, Arthritis, and Muscle Pains. He has an extensive experience in complex Pain states, Headaches, Neuropathic Pain and most chronic pain conditions. His approach to treatment of Chronic and Complex Pain states is multi-disciplinary and multi-modality, including Interventional Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Relaxation Techniques, Biofeedback and Psychological Approach. His approach for Chronic Pain patients is to get them to a point to allow them to do the things they want to do and not let Pain take over their lives.

Dr. Pradeep Chopra's publications:

• Chopra P, Smith H, Deer T, Bowman R. Role of Adhesiolysis in the management of chronic spinal pain:A systematic review of effectiveness and complications. Pain Physician, 2005;8:87-100.
   
• Chopra P, et al: Interventional Techniques in the Management of Chronic Spinal Pain: Evidence-Based Practice Guideline. Pain Physician, 2005;8:15-61.
   
• Chopra P, Smith HS: Use of Radiopaque contrast agents for the Interventional Pain Physician: A topical review. Pain Physician, 2004;7:459-463.
   
• Book: Chopra P, Smith HS: Acetaminophen for the elderly (Chapter). Submitted to Haworth for publication. Expected to be published by February 2006.
   
• Book: Chopra P, Smith HS: Tramadol for the elderly (Chapter). Submitted to Haworth for publication. Expected to be published by February 2006.
   
• Book: Chopra P, Smith HS: Acute and Chronic pain in the Elderly (Chapter). Submitted to Haworth for publication. Expected to be published by February 2006.
   
• Cohen, R I, Chopra P, Upshur C: Low Back pain, part I: Primary Care.Work-up of acute and chronic symptoms. Geriatrics, November 2001, 26 to 37.
   
• Cohen, R I, Chopra P, Upshur C: Low Back pain, part II: Guide to conservative, medical, and procedural therapies. Geriatrics, November 2001, 38 to 47.

Stuart Schneiderman, M.D. President, Pain Management Center Dr. Schneiderman is a board certified Anesthesiologist who has been in private practice for over twenty years. He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA and did his Anesthesia residency at Yale University in New Haven, CT. For many years, Dr. Schneiderman has had an interest in ambulatory surgery and Anesthesia care. One of his goals is to provide superb clinical care in a non-hospital environment. The dedicated staff at the Pain Management Center is working diligently to meet this goal.

Francis R. Sparadeo, Ph.D. Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr. Sparadeo is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island clinical psychology doctoral program. He graduated with a focus on the neuropsychology of addiction. He received his clinical training at the Boston V.A. Medical Center where he trained in medical psychology, pain management and neuropsychology. He completed a two-year clinical fellowship in behavioral medicine and neuropsychology through Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital in 1982. In 1982 Dr. Sparadeo was appointed clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University School of Medicine and the director of Rehabilitation Psychology working in the Department of Orthopaedics at Rhode Island Hospital. He remained in that position developing an outpatient cognitive rehabilitation program for brain injury survivors and also a chronic pain management program. In 1989, he took a position as National Director of Brain Injury and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation for New Medico Healthcare Systems in Boston, Massachusetts. After implementing several innovative rehabilitation programs across the United States, Dr. Sparadeo returned to clinical work at Rhode Island Hospital in 1992 where he was appointed to the Trauma Service. He was a co-author on a $3 million grant from the federal government studying the effectiveness of brief counseling interventions in patients being treated in the emergency room for injuries associated with substance abuse. He has served as President of the Brain Injury Association of Rhode Island and is currently Chairman of the Governor's Permanent Advisory Commission on Traumatic Brain Injury. He also serves as a consultant to the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. He is currently on the faculty of Salve Regina University where he teaches in the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Counseling. He currently specializes in pain assessment and management, pre-surgical psychological screening, neuropsychological assessment and post concussion rehabilitation.