Balanced Pain Policy Initiative
Pain management is at the core of the covenant between physicians and patients. In recent years, however, that covenant has been thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including a lack of education in the medical community and a federal government campaign to prevent abuse of controlled substances.
Consequently, many physicians are reluctant to prescribe pain medications, particularly opioid-based painkillers. And many patients continue to suffer from chronic pain even as therapies are available for treatment.
The Center has addressed this imbalance head-on with the National Balanced Pain Policy Initiative to advocate for patients and influence pain policy across the country. Partners in this effort include pain policy groups, the National Association for Attorneys General and the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Phase I of the Initiative, launched in 2006, focused on research to identify administrative and criminal actions recently taken against physicians.
Phase II now includes putting Phase I research findings to use and identifying effective ways to put these findings into practice.
In this way, the National Balanced Pain Policy Initiative is helping to pave the way for physicians to treat patients for pain without fear of prosecution. And government will meet its obligations by preventing abuse of controlled substances while also ensuring availability of these drugs for legitimate medical purposes.
Funds for this project have been provided by the Greenwall Foundation, Cloud L. Cray, United Health, and William T. Kemper Foundations, and from the Mayday Fund.
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Coming Together for Better Pain Treatment
Pain is undertreated. That’s why the American Academy of Family Physicians has convened a unique group of medical organizations, including the Center for Practical Bioethics, to develop and promote a series of five programs for primary care providers across the country to promote better pain management.
