The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a National Pain Strategy on March 18, 2016. It outlines the federal government’s first coordinated plan for reducing the burden of chronic pain that affects millions of Americans.
Developed by a diverse team of experts from around the nation, the National Pain Strategy is a roadmap toward achieving a system of care in which all people receive appropriate, high quality and evidence-based care for pain.
The Strategy calls for:
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Developing methods and metrics to monitor and improve the prevention and management of pain.
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Supporting the development of a system of patient-centered integrated pain management practices based on a biopsychosocial model of care that enables providers and patients to access the full spectrum of pain treatment options.
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Taking steps to reduce barriers to pain care and improve the quality of pain care for vulnerable, stigmatized and underserved populations.
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Increasing public awareness of pain, increasing patient knowledge of treatment options and risks, and helping to develop a better informed health care workforce with regard to pain management.
“Of the millions of people who suffer from chronic pain, too many find that it affects many or all aspects of their lives,” said Linda Porter, Ph.D., director, NIH’s Office of Pain Policy and co-chair of the IPRCC working group that helped to develop the report. “We need to ensure that people with pain get appropriate care and that means defining how we can best manage pain care in this country.”
A petition has been started on Whitehouse.gov to urge President Obama to fund and implement the National Page Strategy. All supporters are urged to click “NEXT” below for the link to the online petition.
Source: https://iprcc.nih.gov/National_Pain_Strategy/NPS_Main.htm