William Becker, MD
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General Internal Medicine
Primary
Contact Info
General Internal Medicine
VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Mailstop 151B, 950 Campbell Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516
United States
About
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Professor
Biography
Dr. William C. Becker is a general internist with clinical epidemiology, addiction medicine and pain management training, whose research, educational and clinical efforts broadly aim to improve the quality of chronic pain treatment in general medical settings, especially in the complex overlap of chronic pain and opioid use disorder. He directs the Opioid Reassessment Clinic at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and is PI or co-PI of several research projects through the VA, NIH, PCORI and the FDA.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
General Internal Medicine
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
- All Institutions
- General Internal Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- National Clinician Scholars Program
- Program in Addiction Medicine
- Yale-Drug use, Addiction, and HIV prevention Research Scholars (DAHRS)
Education & Training
- Fellow
- Yale University (2007)
- Chief Resident
- Yale University (2005)
- Resident
- Yale University (2004)
- Intern
- Yale University (2002)
- MD
- Temple University School of Medicine (2001)
- BA
- Yale University (1995)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Analgesics, Opioid; Chronic Pain; Internal Medicine
ORCID
0000-0002-0788-1467
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of William Becker's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of William Becker's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics William Becker is interested in exploring.
Anne C. Black, PhD
Sara N Edmond, PhD
Robert Kerns, PhD
David Fiellin, MD
Minhee Sung
Kirsha Gordon, PhD, MS
71Publications
1,836Citations
Analgesics, Opioid
Chronic Pain
Publications
2026
A Buprenorphine Pocket Card and Tool Kit Tailored to Palliative Care Clinicians: An Education and Implementation Cohort Study.
Jones K, Wormwood J, Becker W, Gurewich D, Linsky A, Meier D, Merlin J, Silveira M, Skarf L, Pattison D, Wyse J, Schwartz A. A Buprenorphine Pocket Card and Tool Kit Tailored to Palliative Care Clinicians: An Education and Implementation Cohort Study. Journal Of Palliative Medicine 2026, 10966218261434104. PMID: 41858238, DOI: 10.1177/10966218261434104.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPalliative care cliniciansPaired sample t -test waCare cliniciansSerious illnessFollow-up surveyMixed-methods surveyOnline mixed-method surveyImplementation sciencePrescribing experienceBaseline participantsOpioid use disorderBuprenorphine prescribingClinician confidenceCohort studyOpioid therapyOnline surveyParticipantsUse disorderLearning needsCliniciansPhysiciansKnowledge accuracyIllnessConfidence gapConfidence511 Building Consensus to Define a Diagnostic Entity to Capture When Benefits of Long-Term Opioid Therapy No Longer Outweigh Harms: Preliminary Findings from a Scoping Review
Edmond S, Grant A, Lee F, Su S, Black A, Esserman D, DeBar L, Becker W. 511 Building Consensus to Define a Diagnostic Entity to Capture When Benefits of Long-Term Opioid Therapy No Longer Outweigh Harms: Preliminary Findings from a Scoping Review. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 106158. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.106158.Peer-Reviewed Original Research266 Veterans’ Experiences with Telemedicine Collaborative Pain Management: A Qualitative Analysis
Pham J, Snow J, Lee F, Edmond S, Zenoni M, Black A, Frank J, Becker W. 266 Veterans’ Experiences with Telemedicine Collaborative Pain Management: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 105913. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105913.Peer-Reviewed Original Research177 Baseline Psychosocial and Pain-related Characteristics of Veterans Receiving Pain Management Team Care in the Veterans Health Administration
Grant A, Coleman B, Snow J, Sandbrink F, Echevarria-Baez M, Murphy J, Becker W, Edmond S. 177 Baseline Psychosocial and Pain-related Characteristics of Veterans Receiving Pain Management Team Care in the Veterans Health Administration. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 105824. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105824.Peer-Reviewed Original Research234 Working Alliance in Pain and Opioid Reduction Outcomes
Wesolowicz D, Ali M, Becker W. 234 Working Alliance in Pain and Opioid Reduction Outcomes. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 105881. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105881.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchUse of Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies and Chiropractic Care Among Patients Receiving Long-Term Opioid Therapy in the Department of Veterans Affairs
Black A, Zeliadt S, Kerns R, Douglas J, Abel E, Rajeevan H, Heapy A, Kazemitabar M, Taylor S, Becker W. Use of Complementary and Integrative Health Therapies and Chiropractic Care Among Patients Receiving Long-Term Opioid Therapy in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine 2026, 27683605251396445. PMID: 41269081, DOI: 10.1177/27683605251396445.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLong-term opioid therapyCIH therapiesVeterans AffairsNational retrospective cohortTherapy useChiropractic careCohort entryOpioid therapyYears prior to cohort entryDepartment of Veterans AffairsChronic painCohort entry yearMusculoskeletal pain conditionsHealth care encountersVA Medical CenterConsistent with national trendsResults:Clinical characteristic variablesEvidence-based therapiesCare encountersIntegrated healthHealth outcomesPost-traumatic stress disorderLower oddsOpioid use disorderA tool to evaluate the integration of implementation science methods in a research project: The Dissemination and Implementation Research Capability Self Survey (DIRC-SS)
Gotham H, Patrick B, Olatunde P, Kim J, Garneau H, Becker S, Brown C, Becker W, McGovern M. A tool to evaluate the integration of implementation science methods in a research project: The Dissemination and Implementation Research Capability Self Survey (DIRC-SS). Journal Of Clinical And Translational Science 2026, 10: e55. DOI: 10.1017/cts.2026.10711.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsImplementation science methodsImplementation science expertsImplementation research methodsInter-rater reliabilitySelf-surveyInternal consistency reliabilityResearch teamModerate inter-rater reliabilityNIH-funded research projectsTotal scoreInternal consistencyConsistency reliabilityEffect sizeResearch useExpert ratingsExpert ratersCTSA programTeam ratingsScience methodsPragmatic instrumentResearch educationConsultation processScience expertsSample studyTeamDelphi study to explore indicators of high functioning pain management teams
Rogers D, Snow J, Teufert C, Higgins D, Noh M, Becker W, Murphy J, Sandbrink F, Edmond S. Delphi study to explore indicators of high functioning pain management teams. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 106216. PMID: 41687704, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2026.106216.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPain management teamHealth system integrationClinician-patient interactionsClinician-patientDelphi studyMedical CenterProvision of medication managementConsensus indicatorsVeterans Health AdministrationComprehensive pain careModified Delphi StudyPain management expertsPain careHealthcare organizationsPatient communicationTeam characteristicsHealth AdministrationHealthcare systemPain specialistsConceptual domainsManagement teamChronic painRounding processTeam membersFacility supportLetter: Buprenorphine Receipt Is Uncommon in Older Adults with Cancer
Jones K, Soneji S, Wilson L, Merlin J, Linsky A, Becker W, Check D. Letter: Buprenorphine Receipt Is Uncommon in Older Adults with Cancer. Journal Of Palliative Medicine 2026, 29: 144-145. PMID: 41269128, DOI: 10.1177/10966218251397733.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSummit program to taper long-term opioid therapy in Veterans: A mixed-methods feasibility study
Edmond S, Wesolowicz D, Moore B, Ibarra J, Grant A, Chhabra M, Fraenkel L, Becker W. Summit program to taper long-term opioid therapy in Veterans: A mixed-methods feasibility study. Journal Of Pain 2026, 41: 106207. PMID: 41666948, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2026.106207.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLong-term opioid therapyWeb-based appMixed-methods feasibility studyProgram utilizationSummit programSessions of motivational interviewingContact with study staffFully-powered trialOpioid therapyPilot feasibility trialIntervention acceptabilityLack of resourcesFeasibility trialRecruitment targetOpioid dose reductionMotivational interviewingStudy staffStudy retentionEnrollment approachesQualitative interviewsOpioid taperPrimary outcomeLack of benefitPilot studyBehavioral therapy
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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News
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News
- May 28, 2025
Opioid Overdose Crisis: Medications Prevent Subsequent Overdoses
- May 27, 2025
Research Project Studies High Doses of an Opioid Use Disorder Medication Among Veterans
- 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
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Academic Office Number
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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