Mark Daniel Sullivan, M.D.

Dr. Sullivan is a UW professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of bioethics and humanities. He provides psychiatric consultation services in the UW Medicine Center for Pain Relief with a focus on diagnosing and treating depression and anxiety in patients with chronic pain.

Previously, he served as attending physician in the UWMC Multidisciplinary Pain Center for 15 years. He also worked for five years in the UW General Internal Medicine Center, where he developed nationally disseminated training programs and policies concerning opioid management of chronic pain.

Dr. Sullivan has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, many on chronic pain. He is currently participating in National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded studies on trends and risks of opioid therapy for chronic pain.

He serves on the Industrial Insurance Medical Advisory Committee of Washington state and has been involved with the development and evaluation of the Washington state opioid dosing guideline. He has been chair of the ethics committee of the American Pain Society and on the editorial board of Pain.


Patient Care Philosophy
My philosophy is one of robust patient-centered care. This means that patients are asked not only about treatment preferences, but also about their goals for care and how they might participate in that care. In the care of chronic illness, it is the patient above all else that determines whether care will be successful.

Scope Of Care
He assists outpatients with depression and anxiety that may complicate their medical care and with any behavioral issues relevant to that medical care. He helps the medical team care for the person facing the disease, as well as caring for the disease itself.

Personal Interests
Bicycling to work, running, reading and swimming. He enjoys playing old-time string band music with his family.

Clinical Interests
Outpatient treatment of chronic illness including chronic pain, heart disease, diabetes and depression; and palliative care for seriously ill patients who are not yet at the end of their lives.

Research Interests
He is interested in expanding the ways in which patients can participate in their chronic illness care and the interaction of mental and physical health in chronic illness. He studies the determinants of quality of life in chronic illness and the cost-effectiveness of care.

Teaching Interests
Bioethics, chronic pain, depression in chronic illness and medical mimics of psychiatric disorders.

Languages
English

Expertise
Behavioral Health Care, Chronic Pain, Pain Management, Psychiatry