The Strengths and Weaknesses of Current US Policy to Address Pain

Pain is a significant public health problem that needs policy at the national and local level to resolve incidents of insufficient, ineffective, and disparate pain treatment while limiting the risk of inadvertently increasing the use of treatment such as opioids that can result in public harm.The Na...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2019-01, Vol.109 (1), p.66-72
Main Authors: Gross, Jacob, Gordon, Debra B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
AJPH Pain Management
Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use
Back pain
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. - organization & administration
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. - organization & administration
Chronic pain
Controlled substances
Drug abuse
Drug and Narcotic Control - legislation & jurisprudence
Drug overdose
Epidemics
Health care policy
Health Policy
Health services
Humans
Interinstitutional Relations
Legislation
Narcotics
National Academy of Sciences, U.S. - organization & administration
Opioid Epidemic - prevention & control
Opioids
Other Chronic Disease
Pain
Pain - drug therapy
Pain management
Pain Management - methods
Policy Making
Political power
Politics
Prevention
Professional education
Program Development
Program Evaluation
Public Health
Regulation
Research - organization & administration
State Government
Substance abuse treatment
United States - epidemiology
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Description
Summary:Pain is a significant public health problem that needs policy at the national and local level to resolve incidents of insufficient, ineffective, and disparate pain treatment while limiting the risk of inadvertently increasing the use of treatment such as opioids that can result in public harm.The National Pain Strategy serves as the first comprehensive approach to address pain and provides a roadmap with substantial broad and specific policy implications. Although much has been accomplished to date, transitions in political power, available data and funding, and the current opioid epidemic continue to have an impact on implementation of the National Pain Strategy.A sustained, coordinated effort with multipronged policies in many forms on both federal and state levels via regulations, laws, and guidelines is warranted. However, research is needed to evaluate the impact and potential unintended consequences of increased legislation and regulation. Nevertheless, policy related to the management of pain may provide the path to new treatments and models of care to reduce the impact of pain as a public health crisis in this country.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304746