Scott M. Fishman, M.D.

Director, UC Davis Center for Advancing Pain Relief

Executive Director, UC Davis Office of Wellness Education and Jacquelyn S. Anderson Endowed Chair in Wellness

Professor, UC Davis Health Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Scott M. Fishman is a professor in the UC Davis Health Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, director of the UC Davis Center for Advancing Pain Relief, and the executive director and Jacquelyn S. Anderson endowed chair for the UC Davis Office of Wellness Education. 

An internationally recognized expert on pain and pain management, Fishman has served in numerous leadership roles with the goal of alleviating pain. Such roles include past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, past chairman of the board of directors for the American Pain Foundation, and past board member for the American Pain Society. He is the immediate past chair and a current member of the Pain Care Coalition of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Pain Society and Academy of Pain Medicine. He advocates for safe use of pain medicines with consumers and lawmakers and also lectures on a wide variety of topics related to pain. Fishman has testified before several state legislatures as well as the U.S. Congress. He serves as a consultant for various federal agencies, sits on a panel for the American Academy of Medicine and provides expert interviews for the media, including appearances on the “Today" show, “Good Morning America,” and "PBS NewsHour.”

Fishman has been honored with the UC Davis School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring, the American Pain Society John and Emma Bonica Award for Public Service, the American Academy of Pain Medicine Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Social and Political Aspect of Pain Medicine, the National Pain Foundation Ambassador of the Year, The Head and Heart Award from the American Academy of Pain Management, the Washington, D.C., Capitol Hospice Josephina Magno Award for Excellence in Education and Leadership, the American Academy of Pain Medicine Public Service Award, the Federation of State Medical Boards Distinguished Service Award and the UC Davis Faculty Senate Public Service Award.

In 2015, the UC Davis Center for Pain Medicine was named a Pain Center of Excellence by the American Pain Society. Fishman was recognized that same year with the American Pain Society Elizabeth Narcessian Award for Outstanding Educational Achievements in the Field of Pain. 

Previously, Fishman served as medical director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Pain Center at Harvard Medical School, where he also directed the MGH Cancer Pain Service. He earned a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Formal clinical training includes internal medicine at Greenwich/Yale University School of Medicine and psychiatry at Massachusetts General/Harvard Medical School. He completed a pain medicine fellowship training through the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Fishman earned board certification in internal medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine (1995-2005), psychiatry through the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry, pain medicine through the American Board of Pain Medicine and palliative medicine through the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Fishman’s book publications include "The War on Pain" (Harper Collins Publishers), "Listening to Pain" (Oxford Univ. Press), and "Responsible Opioid Prescribing" (Federation of State Medical Boards). He also co-authored "Spinal Cord Stimulation: Implantation Techniques" (Oxford Univ. Press). He co-edited "Bonica’s Management of Pain" (Lippincott), the "Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Pain Management" (Lippincott), and "Essentials of Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesia" (Elsevier). He has authored many peer-reviewed articles in medical journals, book chapters and other scholarly reviews. He previously served as a senior editor of the Pain Medicine journal and serves on the editorial boards of other medical journals.

Contact information

Phone: 916-734-7097

Email: smfishman@ucdavis.edu