Pain Policy | PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy

OpEd: The myth that prescriptions caused the opioid crisis

PAINS Project — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 15:16:57 +0000

By Thomas F. Kline – Published by News Observer As the North Carolina legislature and the DHHS look for solutions to the opioid problem, consideration of new options is imperative. As doctors, we need to be sure we are doing no harm, as Hippocrates taught us some 3,000 years ago. “Job One” in the medical […]

The post OpEd: The myth that prescriptions caused the opioid crisis appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

Chronic pain victims share ‘other side’ of prescription drug abuse epidemic

PAINS Project — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 20:40:23 +0000

Published by ABC15 – Arizona They are people who feel shut out from their pharmacies, by emergency rooms, and their doctors. Already struggling with chronic pain they feel “abandoned” by a system that is now focusing on a prescription drug epidemic that’s gripped the country. Chronic pain patients have started forming their own support groups […]

The post Chronic pain victims share ‘other side’ of prescription drug abuse epidemic appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

Why the CDC Needs to Recognize Palliative Care

PAINS Project — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 15:20:41 +0000

by Barbara Nelson, PhD, Guest Columnist – Published by PAIN News Network A little over a year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its “Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.” Its goal is to help reduce the raging and heartbreaking overdose epidemic in the U.S. Unexpectedly, the guideline has exposed the […]

The post Why the CDC Needs to Recognize Palliative Care appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

An Important View on Pain as a 5th Vital Sign

PAINS Project — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 14:23:19 +0000

Since the first century, “Calor, dolor, rubor and tumor,” i.e., heat, pain, redness and swelling, have been recognized as classical signs of a serious health problem, but there has never been a “litmus test” for measuring the severity of pain itself. In the mid-90s a group of clinicians, policy wonks, and patient advocates developed Pain as […]

The post An Important View on Pain as a 5th Vital Sign appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

CDC: Painkillers No Longer Driving Opioid Epidemic

PAINS Project — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 19:30:40 +0000

Published by Pain News Network A top official for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that prescription painkillers are no longer the driving force behind the nation’s so-called opioid epidemic. In testimony last week at a congressional hearing, Debra Houry, MD, Director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, […]

The post CDC: Painkillers No Longer Driving Opioid Epidemic appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

CDC Guideline on Prescribing Opioids: Some Major Concerns

PAINS Project — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 16:15:46 +0000

Published by Clinical Pain Advisor In his presentation at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), Jeffrey Fudin, PharmD, DAAPM, FCCP, FASHP, adjunct associate professor at Western New England University College of Pharmacy, highlighted some of the major concerns he has regarding the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease […]

The post CDC Guideline on Prescribing Opioids: Some Major Concerns appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

Fewer Vets on Opioids Following VA Initiative

PAINS Project — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:13:09 +0000

But questions about pain severity, functional outcomes remain Published by MedPage Today Fewer veterans are taking opioids, thanks to an initiative across the Department of Veterans Affairs health system designed to diminish prescribing of the drugs, researchers reported here. After the implementation of the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) in 2013, nearly a third fewer veterans […]

The post Fewer Vets on Opioids Following VA Initiative appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

How CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Affect PCPs

PAINS Project — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 16:18:15 +0000

Published by Clinical Pain Advisor Due to rapidly increasing rates of opioid dependency and overdose, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain in 2016, to be used in primary care settings. In a presentation at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Academy of […]

The post How CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Affect PCPs appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

Lost in Chaos: The State of Chronic Pain in 2016

PAINS Project — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:24:23 +0000

Millions of Americans living with chronic pain struggle because two important public health issues— chronic pain and opioid addiction—are misunderstood and have been conflated. Until these two health conditions are properly distinguished, studied and addressed, the problems associated with both will continue. Tension and misunderstanding surrounding chronic pain and opioid addiction characterize the state of pain in […]

The post Lost in Chaos: The State of Chronic Pain in 2016 appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.

How Have the CDC Opioid Guidelines Affected You?

PAINS Project — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 08:18:05 +0000

Published by Pain News Network Next month will mark the one year anniversary of opioid guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – guidelines that discourage primary care physicians from prescribing opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. At the time of their release, the CDC estimated that as many as 11.5 million Americans […]

The post How Have the CDC Opioid Guidelines Affected You? appeared first on PAINS - Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy.