Pain is one of the most common reasons patients present to emergency departments and primary care clinics, as well as a common complaint among patients treated by subspecialty services. Physicians will agree that treating pain is vital. Yet despite grossly inadequate training in pain management – physicians are expected to offer multimodal pain management (including pharmacological, non-pharmacological and behavioural therapies). All too often, patients with acute or chronic pain also do not have a complete understanding of what options should be available to them and how to access them.