Coming Together for Better Pain Treatment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2009
American Academy of Family Physicians begins national
education program Oct 24 in Greensboro, N.C.
LEAWOOD, KAN. — Pain is the most common reason patients seek medical care. Pain accounts for considerable suffering for patients, decreased quality of life, and conditions such as depression and substance abuse.
For a number of reasons, though, pain is undertreated. That’s why the American Academy of Family Physicians convened a unique group including the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the Center for Practical Bioethics, the Federation of State Medical Boards, and the Federation of State Medical Boards Foundation to develop and promote a series of five programs for primary care providers across the country to promote better pain management.
The programs are part of the AAFP Live! series. The first session on pain management will be held Oct. 24 in Greensboro, N.C. The four remaining programs will be held through March 2010 in Minneapolis, San Antonio, Seattle and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.aafp.org/aafplive.
“The AAFP is pleased to address the topic of pain management in its AAFP Live! series in collaboration with these important partners,” said Mindi McKenna, M.B.A., Ph.D., director of the AAFP’s Continuing Medical Education Division. “America’s family doctors are committed to enhancing their clinical expertise to provide the best treatment possible to patients affected by pain.”
“There’s ample evidence that physicians and patients are struggling to treat pain even with all the treatments available to do so,” says Bill McCarberg, M.D., a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Dr. McCarberg is also founder of the Chronic Pain Program at the University of California - San Diego.
“This collaboration allows for primary care doctors and other medical professionals to develop the expertise they need,” Dr. McCarberg added.
“It has been a privilege to work with these professional associations to promote continuity and quality in the treatment of chronic pain,” says Myra Christopher, president and CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics. “The treatment of pain is fundamental to the covenant between the physician and the patient — whether the physician is a family physician or a pain specialist.”
“The appropriate treatment of pain has been a persistent challenge for our society,” said Martin Crane, M.D., chair of the Federation of the State Medical Boards. “We need more of these kinds of collaborative, quality improvement initiatives in which organizations partner together with the end goal of positively impacting patient care.”
Links:
Media Contacts:
Janelle Davis
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237, ext. 5222
jdavis@aafp.org
Sue Thompson
American Academy of Pain Medicine
(847)375-3686
sthompson@painmed.org
Drew Carlson
Federation of State Medical Boards
(817) 868-4043
dcarlson@fsmb.org
Lorell LaBoube
Center for Practical Bioethics
(816)979-1358
llaboube@practicalbioethics.org
