Joanna L. Starrels

Dr. Starrels is a physician, teacher and researcher who focuses on the safety and effectiveness of opioids for the management of chronic pain. Her research centers on defining best practices for managing chronic pain in primary care and HIV-treatment settings. She studies the benefits and harms of using treatment agreements, urine drug testing, and prescription monitoring programs in pain management; the effectiveness of collaborative care models for integrating behavioral health care and pain management; treatment of opioid use disorders in primary care settings; and the impact of opioid analgesic use, misuse and disorders on HIV outcomes. 

Her work has been funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Society of General Internal Medicine, the New York Community Trust, and the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Starrels also works to improve policies and guidelines to improve the safety of opioid prescribing. She serves as consultant to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on several initiatives to reduce prescription drug abuse, addiction and overdose in New York City. She was a field reviewer for the Federation of State Medical Board’s 2013 Model Policy on the Use of Opioid Analgesics for the Treatment of Chronic Pain, and served as a core expert for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016 opioid prescribing guidelines. She is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine.