William Becker, MD
ProfessorCards
About
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Analgesics, Opioid; Chronic Pain; Internal Medicine
Publications
2025
Buprenorphine, Pain, and Opioid Use in Patients Taking High-Dose Long-Term Opioids
Becker W, Seal K, Nelson D, DeRonne B, Kats A, Morasco B, Frank J, Makris U, Painter J, Allen K, Mixon A, Bohnert A, Reznik T, Hagedorn H, Hammett P, Borsari B, Baxley C, Krebs E, Abelleira A, Adams M, Amundson E, Anicich A, Ankawi B, Arnold S, Aryal A, Atkins D, Atkinson T, Backe K, Bair M, Bajpai S, Baller K, Bangerter A, Barbosa M, Barnett S, Bartlett S, Bartnik M, Baskin J, Blehm R, Bloechl P, Boening N, Boesch N, Bolander S, Bolf M, Bonchak J, Booth K, Bordanea M, Borowa D, Bowden M, Britnell S, Broderick D, Bronars C, Brooks K, Brown C, Brudvik E, Buchanan K, Buesgens C, Buonora M, Burch R, Burton C, Bhushan S, Butler C, Byerly S, Byrd C, Byrd G, Campbell E, Cariveau D, Carmody S, Carr M, Carr T, Cervone D, Chandler M, Clarke K, Clay M, Coy W, Craine M, Culver D, Cutting A, Dadabayev A, Daly D, Degerstrom R, Denietolis A, DePesa N, Desmet P, Devlin A, Dike D, Diokpa C, Dogra M, Drexler K, Drum-Oden A, Duvall T, Eads F, Edmond S, Eichelsdoerfer E, Ellifritz C, Ellison J, Erwin K, Escobedo C, Feighner L, Feuchs A, Fike A, Finetti T, Franchina L, Freeman J, Frontera R, Galvan R, Garvey C, Gayle S, Givens C, Glenn R, Godwin K, Goldstein M, Gosselin K, Graham S, Grimm K, Gumidyala A, Hagerman C, Hale A, Hall L, Harden J, Hawkins J, Hepton S, Herbst E, Herynk A, Heuermann B, Hidalgo N, Hoffmann J, Holland-deguire C, Hope K, Horowitz D, Huang A, Hudson T, Huffman K, Hunt N, Hyde S, Jacobson K, Jensen A, Johnson E, Jones E, Kaiser B, Kauzlarich K, Kavathekar R, Kerns R, Knutson R, Kross T, Lagisetty P, LaHaie E, Lahidji S, Le G, Lelovic M, Lewis M, Librodo S, Linden E, Lindsay D, Lively-Brindley L, Lorenzo J, Luciani L, Lusk C, Mahal-Lichty J, Maloy P, Manuel J, Mapara P, Marcolivio K, Marcy B, Marek L, Marraffa R, Mason B, McCamish N, McKissack M, Miller E, Moon J, Morris H, Mundt J, Naylor J, Nazario M, Nelson A, Nichols A, Njau E, Noh M, Nolan C, Nolan P, Nugent S, Oakley J, Ofstad H, Okere J, Olney R, Olson J, Ortolan V, Osborne J, Osler B, Packard-Milam M, Palyo S, Patel A, Wiener C, Peter D, Philippe M, Pinsonnault J, Purcell N, Reddy S, Reed J, Rettmann N, Rezaei D, Roberti A, Robinson V, Roca H, Romano E, Rosema T, Rouse R, Rozzero P, Rutks I, Sabet R, Sacra E, Sadowski N, Salameh H, Sandbrink F, Sauve C, Schopmeyer K, Schroeder A, Sculley M, Sellinger J, Sewell K, Seys R, Shah Barman M, Sharpe P, Sides T, Silver K, Siver M, Sloan J, Smith C, Son E, Stevens S, Stoll J, Stoll S, Stoner T, Strand M, Sumner J, Surginer B, Svabek K, Swanson G, Tappainer C, Tat C, Taylor B, Theis A, Thomas L, Thomas G, Tiene K, Udouj R, Ugbo E, Varughese S, Venkatraman S, Viera K, Walker J, Walker J, Wang G, Watson K, Watson E, Westmoreland W, Wilbur E, Williams B, Wolfman A, Woloszyn M, Zanga J, Zuniga S. Buprenorphine, Pain, and Opioid Use in Patients Taking High-Dose Long-Term Opioids. JAMA Internal Medicine 2025, 185 PMID: 39960730, PMCID: PMC11833656, DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.8361.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThis study assessed whether switching chronic pain patients from high-dose opioids to buprenorphine improved pain or reduced opioid use, finding no improvements compared with not offering the switch.Pain Coping Skills Training for Patients Receiving Hemodialysis
Dember L, Hsu J, Mehrotra R, Cavanaugh K, Kalim S, Charytan D, Fischer M, Jhamb M, Johansen K, Becker W, Pellegrino B, Eneanya N, Schrauben S, Pun P, Unruh M, Morasco B, Mehta M, Miyawaki N, Penfield J, Bernardo L, Brintz C, Cheatle M, Doorenbos A, Heapy A, Keefe F, Krebs E, Kuzla N, Nigwekar S, Schmidt R, Steel J, Wetmore J, White D, Kimmel P, Cukor D, Adams M, Almonte-Then S, Amonu C, Anderson L, Argega Leon A, Argyropoulos C, Ashley E, Bajana Meza M, Bansal N, Barbosa M, Barrell T, Bart G, Barton A, Beach S, Beeks L, Belcher J, Berman N, Berry D, Bhatraju E, Bishop N, Blazes C, Busch A, Cameron S, Cardona M, Casilli V, Cazes M, Chacon Palma G, Chalamidas K, Chaudry S, Chen N, Chicos I, Clark C, Collins D, Connelly L, Contreras B, Cosmin A, Crowley S, Dalton C, Dirks J, Donahue S, Dutka P, Dyer V, Edeh O, Edwards D, Edwards D, Ekor K, Esserman D, Falker C, Farkas L, Farrar J, Felson S, Flores Y, Fraticelli Ortiz D, Garcia G, Gear L, Geibel A, Gilmartin C, Goldfarb D, Goldfeld K, Goldstein A, Gong A, Grant C, Grindstaff R, Guajardo E, Guy C, Hamm M, Hammond J, Harris K, Hoffman S, Holden C, Howell H, Ikizler T, Joffe S, Joffe J, Johnson S, Kalam E, Kampman K, Keane C, Kimura G, Kirsch O, Kourany W, Krishnamurthy P, Kubrick P, Lacey P, Landis J, Lash J, Lazlo K, Lee J, Lefler J, Leon Cupe A, Lerner S, Liebschutz J, Lietz P, Linke L, Lockwood M, Luo H, Macina A, McCarthy A, McDaniels K, McLaren S, McNeil D, Meinel M, Mejia V, Mengesha B, Merriman D, Michael W, Mims R, Mishra P, Modersitzki F, Moss A, Mullins C, Munet U, O'Connell K, Okereke U, Olejniczak D, Opeke S, Pacheco-Hernandez M, Pankratz S, Park D, Payne K, Pegues H, Percy S, Pleasant S, Purdy T, Quinn D, Quintana N, Rice K, Robinson G, Roche C, Rodriguez Sosa G, Rudow G, Rudy Q, Rutledge J, Sanchez S, Sands B, Scherer J, Schopp M, Self B, Shallcross A, Silva K, Stallings T, Stauffer C, Steffen A, Stewart T, Stringfellow S, Sullivan L, Torres R, Torres J, Trejo G, Varela D, Vassilieva S, Vilchis H, Villareal D, Walsh J, Ways J, Weidner T, Weimer M, Weiner D, Weisbord S, Wilkie C, Wilkinson M, Williams S, Williams J, Wilson O, Wood V, Yabes J, Zamora G, Zaniga S. Pain Coping Skills Training for Patients Receiving Hemodialysis. JAMA Internal Medicine 2025, 185: 197-207. PMID: 39786400, PMCID: PMC11791705, DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.7140.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPain coping skills trainingPain coping skills training groupUsual care groupBrief Pain InventoryUsual carePain interferenceCoping skills trainingCare groupQuality of lifePain catastrophizingPain intensityBPI interferenceOutcomes of pain intensityRandomized clinical trialsSecondary outcomesChronic painSecondary outcomes of pain intensitySkills trainingBPI interference scoreCognitive behavioral interventionProportion of participantsOutpatient dialysis facilitiesClinically meaningful improvementsPain interventionsRandomized clinical trial of patientsA deep learning analysis for dual healthcare system users and risk of opioid use disorder
Yin Y, Workman E, Ma P, Cheng Y, Shao Y, Goulet J, Sandbrink F, Brandt C, Spevak C, Kean J, Becker W, Libin A, Shara N, Sheriff H, Butler J, Agrawal R, Kupersmith J, Zeng-Trietler Q. A deep learning analysis for dual healthcare system users and risk of opioid use disorder. Scientific Reports 2025, 15: 3648. PMID: 39881142, PMCID: PMC11779826, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-77602-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRisk of opioid use disorderOpioid use disorderDeep neural networksUse disorderClinical factorsIncreased risk of opioid use disorderOpioid use disorder riskOpioid prescribing guidelinesNatural language processing of clinical notesDeep neural network modelU.S. veteransSubstance useOpioid useNatural language processingRetrospective studyBaltimore VA Medical CenterVA Medical CenterIncreased riskPrescribing guidelinesDrug useRisk factorsOpioidMedical CenterVeteransVeterans Health Administration
2024
Occurrence of Opioid-Related Neurocognitive Symptoms Associated With Long-term Opioid Therapy
León C, Sung M, Reisman J, Liu W, Kerns R, Gordon K, Mitra A, Kwon S, Yu H, Becker W, Li W. Occurrence of Opioid-Related Neurocognitive Symptoms Associated With Long-term Opioid Therapy. The Clinical Journal Of Pain 2024, 41: e1266. PMID: 39682036, PMCID: PMC11729567, DOI: 10.1097/ajp.0000000000001266.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchLong-term opioid therapyElectronic health recordsIncidence rate ratiosOpioid-related harmsSubstance use disordersNeurocognitive symptomsHazard ratioPatients prescribed long-term opioid therapyVeterans Health AdministrationCalculated incidence ratesAssociated with increased likelihoodChronic obstructive pulmonary diseasePost-traumatic stress disorderHealth recordsProportional hazards modelRetrospective cohort studyObstructive pulmonary diseaseHealth AdministrationRate ratiosIncidence rateCohort studyTraumatic brain injuryClinical notesExtract dataHazards modelDisparities in Receipt of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US Veterans Health Administration
Sung M, León C, Reisman J, Gordon K, Kerns R, Li W, Liu W, Mitra A, Yu H, Becker W. Disparities in Receipt of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US Veterans Health Administration. Substance Use & Addiction Journal 2024, 46: 369-376. PMID: 39569566, DOI: 10.1177/29767342241293334.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMOUD receiptElixhauser Comorbidity IndexOpioid use disorderSocial determinants of healthVeterans Health Administration electronic health record dataElectronic health record dataUS Veterans Health AdministrationDeterminants of healthVeterans Health AdministrationHealth record dataProportion of veteransReceipt of medicationsSubstance useComorbidity indexTargeted outreach effortsUse disorderCOVID-19 pandemicProportion of patientsSocial determinantsReceipt of MOUDHealth AdministrationRecord dataEffect sizeMOUD engagementCalculated proportionsGuideline concordant opioid therapy in Veterans receiving VA and community care
Ma P, Cheng Y, Goulet J, Sandbrink F, Brandt C, Spevak C, Kean J, Becker W, Libin A, Shara N, Sheriff H, Houston J, Butler J, Workman E, Agrawal R, Kupersmith J, Zeng-Treitler Q. Guideline concordant opioid therapy in Veterans receiving VA and community care. BMC Health Services Research 2024, 24: 1284. PMID: 39456008, PMCID: PMC11515256, DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-11742-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDual-system usersGuideline concordant careConcordant careVA servicesCommunity careElectronic health record dataHealth record dataRates of guideline concordanceVA Medical CenterOpioid therapyAdherence to specific guidelinesBaltimore VA Medical CenterGuideline adherenceGuideline concordanceAdherence ratesGuideline recommendationsRecord dataCareDemographic factorsMedical CenterVeteransComorbid conditionsOpioid crisisUrine drug screensSpecific guidelinesLong-Term Use of Muscle Relaxant Medications for Chronic Pain
Oldfield B, Gleeson B, Morford K, Adams Z, Funaro M, Becker W, Merlin J. Long-Term Use of Muscle Relaxant Medications for Chronic Pain. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2434835. PMID: 39298168, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.34835.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLow back painBack painSkeletal muscle relaxantsChronic painRandomized clinical trialsNeck painCohort studyEfficacy of long-term useLong-term useSystematically searched Ovid MEDLINEMuscle relaxant medicationsModerate risk of biasOpioid prescribing guidelinesRisk of biasQuality of cohort studiesWeb of SciencePainful crampsRelaxant medicationsChronic pain syndromesPainful spasmsOvid MEDLINEPrescribing guidelinesSystematic reviewIncreased prescriptionModerate riskFactors associated with participation in a walking intervention for veterans who smoke and have chronic pain
Muller R, Driscoll M, DeRycke E, Edmond S, Becker W, Bastian L. Factors associated with participation in a walking intervention for veterans who smoke and have chronic pain. Journal Of Behavioral Medicine 2024, 47: 994-1001. PMID: 39143444, DOI: 10.1007/s10865-024-00511-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFactors associated with participationCognitive behavioral interventionPain locationCounseling sessionsAverage daily step countPain self-management interventionMedian daily stepsDaily step countIntegrated smoking cessationSelf-management interventionsTelephone counseling sessionsChronic painModerate pain intensityMedian pack-yearsMultivariate logistic regressionWalking interventionLE painDaily stepsStep countsPain interferenceWalk componentSmoking cessationPain intensityPack-yearsIncreased oddsImplementation, intervention, and downstream costs for implementation of a multidisciplinary complex pain clinic in the Veterans Health Administration
Daniels S, Cave S, Wagner T, Perez T, Edmond S, Becker W, Midboe A. Implementation, intervention, and downstream costs for implementation of a multidisciplinary complex pain clinic in the Veterans Health Administration. Health Services Research 2024, 59: e14345. PMID: 38956400, PMCID: PMC11540574, DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14345.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVeterans Health AdministrationIntervention sitesIntervention costsHealth AdministrationPain clinicDownstream costsQuasi-experimental study designChronic painVA administrative dataAverage intervention costComplex chronic painRoutes of careActivity-based cost dataHealthcare utilization costsVA Medical CenterHistory of chronic painMicro-costing methodImplementation facilitatorsHospice patientsCost of treating patientsControl groupAdministrative dataInpatient costsIntervention cohortClinically similar characteristicsT50 Receipt of Prescribed Opioids and Benzodiazepines After Non-Fatal Overdose and Risk of Subsequent Overdose
Howell B, Black A, Lin H, Lauretta G, Heimer R, Hawk K, D'Onofrio G, Fiellin D, Becker W. T50 Receipt of Prescribed Opioids and Benzodiazepines After Non-Fatal Overdose and Risk of Subsequent Overdose. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2024, 260: 110499. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110499.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Engaging Veterans Seeking Service-Connection Payments in Pain Treatment (PragmaticSBIRT)
HIC ID2000022664RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date09/30/2023Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 100 years
News
News
- December 02, 2024
Pain Management Collaboratory Coordinating Center Receives Grant to Continue Research
- April 30, 2024
Amid Opioid Overdose Crisis, Yale Program in Addiction Medicine Advises State on Drug Company Settlement Spending
- September 14, 2023
New Professors in the Department of Internal Medicine
- July 05, 2023Source: BMC Primary Care
Video-Telecare Collaborative Pain Management During COVID-19: A Single-Arm Feasibility Study
Get In Touch
Contacts
Academic Office Number
Mailing Address
General Internal Medicine
VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Mailstop 151B, 950 Campbell Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516
United States
Locations
PRIME Center of Innovation, Bldg 35A
Academic Office
VA Connecticut Healthcare
950 Campbell Avenue, Fl 1st Fl, Rm Rm #109
West Haven, CT 06516