Clearway Pain Solutions has merged with KureSmart Pain Management, of Annapolis, creating one of the largest integrated pain solutions practices in the U.S., with 37 doctors and 46 clinical practitioners serving 36 locations in Maryland, Florida, Alabama, Delaware and Michigan. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Clearway has operated from Florida and KureSmart has approximately two dozen offices in the area, including locations in Columbia, Glen Burnie, Laurel, Mt. Airy and Catonsville. The combined organization will leverage financial, operational, clinical and technological resources as part of a national strategy to deliver excellence in comprehensive interventional pain management services.

The Clearway platform also means more opportunity for doctors and clinical professionals who want to grow their careers and practice quality medicine in a supportive team environment.

“With this merger, Clearway becomes one of the largest interventional pain management practices in the United States, but it’s not about size just for the sake of being the biggest,” said Dr. Damean Freas, who was CEO of KureSmart and now serves as the CEO of the overall Clearway organization. “We now get to reach more patients, attract and retain the best talent and provide the most advanced treatments that make a real difference in our patients’ lives.”

Clearway is also going to be positioned to help address the opioid crisis in the communities they serve through its integrated, interventional approach to pain management where a multi-disciplinary team works together to alleviate pain but also solve the root causes of pain. Freas said that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths from opioids have increased almost six times since 1999, killing more than 47,000 people in 2017, with 36% of those deaths involving prescription opioids.