Follow-Up to Proposed Pain Care Policy Changes
Final Report on Pain Management Best Practices: Updates, Gaps, Inconsistencies, and Recommendations
Earlier this year, the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force (Task Force) released a draft report for public comment and review. This draft report noted recent updates and recommendations for pain treatment protocols, as well as identified gaps and inconsistencies for current practices when treating chronic or acute pain. Following a 90-Day period for public comment, the final report of this draft has recently been released. This report is released by the Task Force with oversight from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense.
The report focuses on the development of an effective pain treatment plan with an emphasis on patient-centered care. Through in-depth evaluations and specific diagnosis review, an individualized treatment protocol should be established with measurable outcomes that focus on improvements, including quality of life, improved functionality, and activities of daily living.
From the Executive Summary of the report:
“Patients with acute and chronic pain in the United States face a crisis because of significant challenges in obtaining adequate care, resulting in profound physical, emotional, and societal costs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 million adults in the United States have chronic daily pain, with 19.6 million adults experiencing high impact chronic pain that interferes with daily life or work activities. The cost of pain to our nation is estimated at between $560 billion and $635 billion annually. At the same time, our nation is facing an opioid crisis that, over the past two decades, has resulted in an unprecedented wave of overdose deaths associated with prescription opioids, heroin, and synthetic opioids.”
Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force Report: Updates, Gaps, Inconsistencies, and Recommendations.
The report then breaks down in detail all aspects needed in order to achieve excellence in acute and chronic pain care. You can read the full 116-page report here.
You can read the initial post about this draft report here.