Ask the experts: neuropathic pain from a primary care perspective

Blair H Smith, MD, MEd, FRCGP, FRCP, Edin, qualified in medicine at the University of Glasgow (Scotland, UK) in 1987, and as a general practitioner in 1993. He is the Professor of Population Science at the University of Dundee (Scotland, UK), having previously been the Professor of Primary Care Medicine at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK). He is also a general practitioner with the Peterhead Medical Practice (Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK). His research on the epidemiology and primary care management of chronic (neuropathic) pain has been widely published with more than 100 original research articles in peer-reviewed medical journals, and numerous related book chapters. He leads a program of research, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, on the selfmanagement of chronic pain by older adults, and is also one of the Chief Investigators in Generation Scotland, a major family study for research into the genetics of health and illness, including pain. He is currently the Treasurer of the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group of the International Association for the Study of Pain and Director of the Scottish Pain Research Community.