The Health and Human Services Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force completed its yearlong session on May 10 and is due to submit its final report to Congress.
Four things to know:
1. The Task Force first met in April 2018 with a goal of identifying solutions and recommendations for inconsistencies in the treatment of painful conditions. Lack of adequate care and stigma are two of the primary challenges that patients with painful conditions experience.
2. Its report outlined five items that play a key role in achieving excellence in pain care: medications, physical or occupational restorative therapies, interventional approaches such as minimally invasive procedures, behavioral health support, as well as complementary and integrative health like massage, acupuncture and yoga.
3. Challenged with finding the best practices in the treatment of acute and chronic pain, the Task Force consists of 29 government and non-government experts in pain management, patient advocacy, substance use disorders, mental health and minority health.
4. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50 million U.S. adults have chronic daily pain and 19 million of those experience pain that affects their daily life or work.