AMERICAN PAIN INSTITUTE,
ARKANSAS CHAPTER
INTRACTABLE PAIN TREATMENT ACT INFORMATION
Definition of
Intractable Pain: Pain which is
excruciating, constant, incurable and of such severity that it dominates
virtually every conscious moment, produces mental and physical debilitation and
may produce a desire to commit suicide for the sole purpose of stopping the
pain.
Definition of A
Pain Advocate: A pain advocate helps
people find doctors who will provide them with adequate pain treatment and
medication, if needed, to medically treat their Intractable Pain and return
some value to the patient’s quality of life. Although there are many “well known” pain
advocates and additionally those that will put their name on a cause, the best
advocate for your personal medical treatment is YOU!!!
As demand for
better pain management grows in the United States, the public is taking an
interest in policies that govern the medical use of opioid analgesics for
people with chronic pain. Although the
use of opioids in acute and cancer pain is well accepted, their use in chronic
non-cancer pain has been considered widely to be inappropriate due to the
concerns about efficacy, toxicity, and addiction. The medical board in the State of Arkansas has used their
disciplinary authority to reject or discourage the prescribing of opioids for
chronic non-cancer pain.
In many states, the
assumptions behind the belief that opioids should not be used for patients with
chronic pain are currently undergoing a critical reappraisal in an effort to
clarify patient selection and appropriate management strategies. Many of these state governments have begun
to adopt laws that specifically allow the use of opioids for the treatment of
Intractable Pain.
The development of
Intractable Pain Treatment Laws gives much-needed recognition to the necessity
for better treatment of Intractable Pain and can help to correct past policy,
which discouraged any use of opioids. As
the development of Intractable Pain Policy proceeds in the United
States, we should take care not to oversimplify the complexity of chronic pain
and its treatment. We should avoid
creating the impression that all prescribing of opioids is appropriate or than
any person with chronic pain has a right to opioids. We should also avoid creating the impression that new policies
will correct deficits in practitioners’ knowledge and attitudes. Our goal should be to pass an Intractable
Pain Treatment Act into law in the State of Arkansas and at the same time, make
available continuing education in the diagnosis, effects, options, and
treatments for physicians dealing with patients with Intractable Pain.