About the Division of Pain Medicine

The Stanford Division of Pain Medicine is a national leader in advancing care for people with pain. Our mission spans three key areas: delivering exceptional clinical care, educating future leaders in pain medicine, and conducting research improving the lives of patients.

We care for people with all types of pain — from sudden (acute) pain after surgery or injury to long-lasting (chronic) pain that affects daily life. Our team provides care in the hospital, through programs like the Acute Pain Service and the Stanford Coordinated Inpatient Pain Program (SCIPP), as well as in outpatient clinics across the region.

Our division is led by internationally recognized experts in research, clinical care, and education. Our clinical faculty also includes specialists in anesthesiology, neurology, physiatry, psychology, nursing, and physical therapy — working together to treat the whole person.

Learn more about chronic pain, meet the faculty behind our programs, or support our work:

• About Chronic Pain

• Faculty and Staff

• Make a Gift

Patients at Stanford Pain receive truly coordinated care. All of our health care professionals work collaboratively to offer seamless care transitions between the hospital and clinic, and between interdisciplinary teams. This reduces delays and helps patients avoid repeating tests or retelling their story.

We also believe that educating the public is part of our responsibility. We produce accessible articles, digital resources, podcasts, and webinars to help patients and families understand pain and treatment options. Our team collaborates with patient advocates to make sure our care and communication reflect the real experiences of people living with pain.

Stanford’s Pain Medicine Division is home to CHOIR, a powerful learning health system designed to improve patient care through data-driven insights. CHOIR collects comprehensive patient-reported outcomes, enabling personalized treatments, real-time clinical decision-making, and ongoing research to advance pain management. By seamlessly integrating clinical practice and research, CHOIR supports precision pain medicine, empowering patients and clinicians to make informed choices that enhance health and quality of life.

We care for thousands of patients each year, including those with:Back, neck, and joint pain

• Nerve and facial pain
• Cancer-related pain
• Pelvic pain and other pain conditions that disproportionately affect women
• Complex pain syndromes like CRPS or fibromyalgia
• Acute pain after surgery or trauma
• Persistent post-surgical pain

Our care includes medical, interventional/procedural, psychological, and rehabilitative approaches — always grounded in evidence and tailored to each person’s needs.

Stanford is committed to training the next generation of leaders in pain medicine. We offer:

• A nationally recognized pain medicine fellowship
• Specialized training in pain psychology
• Mentored research opportunities
• Interdisciplinary clinical experiences

We prepare physicians, psychologists, nurses, and allied health professionals to care for diverse patient populations and to push the field forward through scholarship and innovation.

Our research spans basic science, clinical trials, digital health, and health policy. We study how pain works in the brain and body, how it affects people’s lives, and how treatments can be made safer and more effective.

Many of our faculty lead NIH-funded projects and are developing new tools to measure and manage pain. From machine learning to mindfulness, we explore both the biological and lived experience of pain — always with the goal of improving outcomes for patients.