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Season's Greetings from the American Pain Foundation
On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors of the American Pain Foundation, we thank you for all of your support throughout this past year and the many ways you contributed to our common cause to improve pain care for all.
During this often demanding time of the year, be kind to yourself and those around you and pause to remember those living with pain. For some tips on how to make the busy holidays a little easier, we invite you to read:
· Top Ten Tips: Easing Pain Around the Holidays
· Can Holiday Eating Affect Your Pain?
May you and your loved ones have a safe, joyous holiday season and a healthy New Year!
Will Rowe
CEO
American Pain Foundation
NEWS
Stress and neck pain more common in women than men
Neck pain is more common in women than men, irrespective of occupation or age, reveals a new thesis. Stressed young women develop more neck pain than their male counterparts. Women also perceive everyday life to be more stressful.
People with chronic pain face complex dilemmas and life-changing decisions
Coping with chronic pain can affect every aspect of a person's life and cause conflict between what their mind wants to achieve and what their body allows them to do. Researchers carried out in-depth interviews with 10 people who had experienced chronic pain for between four and 32 years and were taking part in an outpatient rehabilitation program.
Painful knees often tied to pain in other joints
Researchers asked almost 1,400 patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), aged 45 to 79, about pain in the lower back, neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, ankle or foot. Results show that the pain of knee OA is more severe in people who also have foot, elbow and lower back pain.
APF NEWS
APF's New Website Design
APF is excited to introduce its new website! We hope the new design and navigation make it easier for you to find the pain information and support you need as well as the advocacy issues important to you. Over the next few months, APF will expand its PainSAFE initiative and Action Network efforts and incorporate educational materials from the National Pain Foundation. Check it out and let us know what you think!
10,000 Voices Campaign
The 10,000 Voices campaign needs you to add your voice to the Virtual Wall of Voices. Your stories of struggle, hope and inspiration will be used to illustrate the range of experiences with pain management in America and inspire others to overcome the barriers that they face in their pain journey.
APF ACTION NETWORK
A number of APF AN leaders participated in Pain Action Initiative: A National Strategy (PAINS) meetings hosted by the Center for Practical Bioethics to access the capacity and readiness of individual leaders and organizations to collaborate for the purpose of developing a national strategic plan to improve the treatment of chronic pain. Regional meetings were hosted in Seattle, San Diego, Boston, Chicago and Tampa. These meetings resulted in fruitful discussions and included the important voices of people living with pain. Stay tuned for next steps.
Announcing a New AN Leader!
We are thrilled to announce that Sarah Betson, LMSW, and a person with pain, is now a state leader for New York. Please join us in welcoming Sarah!
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a leader please review the information on the Roles of Leaders page of our website and apply. Together we can make a difference!
There are many ways to get involved with the Action Network. For example, you can become a member of APF to receive important news and information, fill out an advocacy survey or contact your state leader to support their efforts.
For more events happening around the country or to submit an event of your own, please visit our Events page.
CONNECT
PainAid Online Support Community
PainAid provides chat rooms (regularly scheduled chats on different issues), discussion boards (threaded message boards on a broad variety of topics), and the Ask the Experts feature (pose questions to licensed health care professionals). PainAid is staffed by highly qualified volunteers with a range of backgrounds, all of whom either live with chronic pain or care for people who do. Visit PainAid for more information.
Voices of People with Pain
If you are a person with pain or know someone who lives with pain, we invite you to share your story. View others' stories or share your own.
Webinar and Teleconference Replays
All APF webinars and teleconferences are archived for on-demand viewing. Make sure to check out our chat transcripts and join us at PainAid for future daily and special chats. Sign up to receive notifications of future webinars and teleconferences.
Other ways to get involved in our efforts:
· Keep up with us on Facebook.
· Follow APF on Twitter at www.twitter.com/americanpain for the latest pain news and information and at www.twitter.com/painadvocacy for information on advocacy, policy and public awareness activities.
· Visit the Exit Wounds site to learn more about our Military and Veterans living with pain.
SPOTLIGHT ON PAIN
The American Pain Foundation “Spotlights” are educational campaigns that highlight specific pain conditions or populations of people that experience pain. Spotlights bring focus to an issue offering a variety of ways for people to learn more about the topic, gain support, and take action. Click here for more information about our spotlights.
Cancer Pain
Antidepressant May Relieve Breast Cancer Treatment-related Pain
Duloxetine (Cymbalta), a medication commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorder, was effective at reducing joint and muscle pain associated with a breast cancer treatment, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Fibromyalgia
Delay in diagnosis significantly impacts lives of people with fibromyalgia
A new study illustrates the prolonged struggles people with fibromyalgia face, along with delays in diagnosis, which many respondents report as being one year or longer. As a result of fibromyalgia, 67 percent of respondents are unable to keep up with household chores, 47 percent report that their work life or career has been negatively affected, and 42 percent spend less quality time with their friends.
Military/Veterans
Disabled veteran challenges VA's rating system
The VA does not consider reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) a disability, but Douglas Strand is working to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize RSD in its disability ratings system. Strand testified before the Advisory Committee on Disability Evaluation, which is charged with making recommendations to the VA rating schedule.
SCIENCE & MEDICINE
The Value of Psychological Assessment as Part of Risk Assessment for the Patient with Chronic Pain
Psychological comorbidity is not uncommon in the chronic pain population, but including this in a patient's initial assessment can challenge clinicians. Geralyn Datz, PhD, discusses the value of psychological assessment in pain management, and describes her research on its role in identifying patients who may be at increased risk for opioid misuse.
CV Risk Remains High After Stopping Vioxx
Even after patients stopped taking the painkiller rofecoxib (Vioxx) when it was pulled from the market, their risk of cardiovascular events remained high, researchers reported.
St. Jude Medical neurostimulation study demonstrates sustained improvement in chronic low back pain symptoms and quality of life
St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced two-year results in a post-market clinical study evaluating neurostimulation (spinal cord stimulation) for the management of chronic low back pain. The study found that 70 percent of neurostimulation patients reported overall pain relief of 50 percent or better at their final two-year visit. Additionally, 88 percent of these patients reported that their quality of life was improved or greatly improved.
COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Acupuncture changes brain's perception and processing of pain, researchers find
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have captured pictures of the brain while people experienced a pain stimulus with and without acupuncture to determine acupuncture's effect on how the brain processes pain.
Sleep Disorders and CAM: What the Science Says
People who have trouble sleeping may use forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an effort to fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and improve the overall quality of their sleep. Research on CAM and insomnia has produced promising results for some CAM therapies. However, evidence of effectiveness is still limited for most therapies, and additional research is needed.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Chronic Opioid Therapy: Understanding Risk While Maximizing Analgesia
Webcast now available! This on-demand webcast features two intriguing case studies exploring assessment, treatment and management of patients receiving chronic opioid therapy.
Journal of Family Practice eNewsletter Series — Pain Management Today
Each issue in this 10-part series focuses on key topics surrounding the use of opioid therapy. Issues include a feature article written by an expert in the field of pain management accompanied by commentary from a primary care physician that addresses the topic from a day-to-day practice perspective. To aid in the application of the principles raised in the eNewsletter series in your practice, each issue follows a step in the National Initiative on Pain Control (NIPC) treatment algorithm, which highlights key steps in managing and treating patients who are receiving opioid therapy.
2011 International Research Summer School at the International Observatory on End of Life
This program in Lancaster, England, is a one- or two-week interdisciplinary program that offers an advanced introduction to social research methods relevant to end of life care. The early bird rate deadline is Monday, February 28, 2011.
ChronicPainTX.com
ChronicPainTX.com is designed to provide educational resources to clinicians who are interested in improving their management of chronic pain. Activities can be taken for physician continuing medical education credit and are free of charge. In some instances, activities have been additionally accredited for non-physician health care professionals (e.g., nurses, pharmacists). These activities were developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation, the Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Current programs include:
· A Case-Based Approach to the Safe and Effective Use of Opioid Therapy in Primary Care
· Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice: Practical Risk Assessment in the Structuring of Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain
Visit ChronicPainTX.com for more information.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Neuro Film Festival
People who have loved ones affected by a brain disorder or have been affected by a disorder themselves are encouraged to share their story by submitting a short video to the 2011 Neuro Film Festival competition. The contest aims to raise awareness through video about the need to raise more money for research into the prevention, treatment and cure of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, autism, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. The deadline for video submissions is February 15, 2011. Winners of the 2011 Neuro Film Festival could win up to $1,000 and a chance to attend the Neuro Film Festival in Hawaii on April 10, 2011, in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology’s 63rd Annual Meeting.
EVENTS
Public
RSD/CRPS Awareness Quilt Project
An ongoing project to raise awareness about chronic pain conditions, especially RSD. The organizers are gathering quilt squares to make a pain awareness quilt that will travel across the United States. For more information, visit the Facebook page.
Professional
February 10-12, 2011
Musculoskeletal Disorders and Chronic Pain
Los Angeles
March 24-27, 2011
American Academy of Pain Medicine Annual Meeting
Washington, DC
For more events happening around the country or to submit an event of your own, please visit our Events page.
Thank you to our medical/science editor Robert Twillman, PhD.
The Pain Monitor is a monthly electronic publication of the American Pain Foundation. We want to keep you abreast of recent media attention given to topics that are related to pain care or living with pain. This information is provided for educational and information purposes only. Readers may wish to print the information and discuss it with their doctor. Always consult with health care providers before starting or changing any treatment. Above are links to news articles, feature stories and timely information that have come to our attention. Please pass them along to others who might benefit. We encourage you to send any comments you may have to the authors or publishers directly. Every voice counts when working towards improving pain care in our nation.
The American Pain Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that relies upon private donations to fund its programs, services and distribution of educational materials. There are millions of people who live with unrelieved chronic pain. If you can help, please make a donation to the American Pain Foundation. For other ways you can support APF’s work, please visit our website at www.painfoundation.org.
To make sure you continue to receive our newsletters and alerts, please add editor@painfoundation.org to your address book or approved sender list.
Volunteer at the Hospital
Yes ... I volunteer at the hospital and it make me feel better about myself, Yes in deed.
When I'm in pain & feel I can't do anything, I remember; I can call someone who is in real need.
They are in worse condition then I am and need my laughter, my smile, my ears...
and someone to be there for their tears.
And for me then to open my mouth and brighten their day...
with some nice words then to say.
Being with pain myself and going through a lot of the same stuff,
I know what they are going through is real tough.
But to be there as a part of their life while they're still live,
lets me make a difference, they're so happy when I arrive.
I may be handicap, poor, and have no money to give,
but I have a loving heart, good soul... I guess that's God's reason I do live.
© 30 Nov 2010: Poem By Bryan R. Jenks of JENKS INDUSTRIES / www.WISHLAMP.com
The Pain Monitor is a monthly electronic publication of the American Pain Foundation. We want to keep you abreast of recent media attention given to topics that are related to pain care or living with pain. This information is provided for educational and information purposes only. Readers may wish to print the information and discuss it with their doctor. Always consult with health care providers before starting or changing any treatment. Below are links to news articles, feature stories and timely information that have come to our attention. Please pass them along to others who might benefit. We encourage you to send any comments you may have to the authors or publishers directly. Every voice counts when working towards improving pain care in our nation.
NEWS
FDA Approves Cymbalta to Treat Chronic Back Pain
The FDA approved the antidepressant duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta) to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain, including discomfort from osteoarthritis and chronic lower back pain.
FDA Approves Botox for Migraine Prevention in Adults
The FDA approved onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) for prevention of chronic migraine headaches in adults who experience headaches more than 14 days a month.
One in Five Adults Has Arthritis
Almost 50 million Americans — 22.2% of adults 18 and older — have physician-diagnosed arthritis, a total that's expected to rise in the coming decades.
2008 Global, Regional, and National Opioid Consumption Statistics Available
The Pain & Policy Studies Group released updated global, regional and national consumption data for opioids and announced the Morphine Equivalence (ME) metric for six principal opioids used to treat moderate to severe pain.
Drowsy Driving Prevention Week - November 8-14, 2010
The National Sleep Foundation developed this public awareness campaign to educate drivers about sleep safety and the contribution of drowsy driving to motor vehicle crashes, injuries and deaths.
National Family Caregivers Month
During this November, the National Family Caregivers Association is encouraging family caregivers to reach out for help. Celebrate National Family Caregivers Month 2010 by helping family caregivers reach out for help and being there to provide it when asked.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
Every November hospices raise awareness of the compassionate care that hospice and palliative care provide patients and families coping with serious and life-limiting illness.
November is National Diabetes Month
This November, the American Diabetes Association is asking the public to help stop diabetes, a disease with painful and deadly consequences.
APF NEWS
10,000 Voices Campaign
The 10,000 Voices campaign launched during September Pain Awareness Month will continue year round. Add your voice to the Virtual Wall of Voices. Your stories will illustrate the range of experiences with pain management in America and inspire others to overcome the barriers that they face in their pain journey.
APF ACTION NETWORK
Action Network leaders continue to raise awareness about the plight of people affected by pain. This past month, AN leaders Ashley Mahoney and Carolyn Noel, both from Georgia, and Dionetta Hudzinski, from Washington, presented at the national Alliance of State Pain Initiatives meeting in Atlanta. Their presentation, “Addressing the Fears of People Living with Pain,” was well received. Kudos to the team!
Georgia AN leaders Davianne Charles and Claudia Wendlandt hosted a meeting in Marietta on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The event was a huge success, with renowned physicians Dr. Charles Lapp and Dr. Thomas Hurd presenting.
In the area of policy advocacy, AN leader Candy Pitcher, North Carolina, testified at the North Carolina Joint Legislative Health Care Oversight Committee. The committee is reviewing options to prevent prescription medication abuse and misuse. Candy told her story and asked the legislators to carefully consider their actions and make sure they do not affect access to pain treatment or compromise people’s right to privacy.
Please check out our Network in Action and Events pages for more information.
CONNECT
New Webinar — “Maybe It’s Fibro? Communicating and Advocating for Better Care”
The fourth installment in our “Maybe It’s Fibro?” webinar series was presented on October 26th. This one-hour webinar features Charles W. Lapp, MD, who discusses how people living with fibromyalgia can better communicate with their health care team and best advocate for themselves. Carolyn Noel, APF Action Network Leader for Georgia, also highlights ways people with pain can advocate for others on a state and national level. This event was recorded and is available for replay on our website. Watch the replay today!
PainAid Online Support Community
PainAid provides chat rooms (regularly scheduled chats on different issues), discussion boards (threaded message boards on a broad variety of topics), and the Ask the Experts feature (pose questions to licensed health care professionals). PainAid is staffed by highly qualified volunteers with a range of backgrounds, all of whom either live with chronic pain or care for people who do. Visit PainAid for more information.
Voices of People with Pain
If you are a person with pain or know someone who lives with pain, we invite you to share your story. Read others' stories or share your own.
Webinar and Teleconference Replays
All APF webinars and teleconferences are archived for on-demand viewing. Make sure to check out our chat transcripts and join us at PainAid for future daily and special chats. Sign up to receive notifications of future webinars and teleconferences.
Other ways to get involved in our efforts:
SPOTLIGHT ON PAIN
The American Pain Foundation “Spotlights” are educational campaigns that highlight specific pain conditions or populations of people that experience pain. Spotlights bring focus to an issue offering a variety of ways for people to learn more about the topic, gain support, and take action. Click here for more information about our spotlights.
Acute Pain
Global Year Against Acute Pain
The International Association for the Study of Pain launched the Global Year Against Acute Pain to address inadequate acute pain control, with efforts continuing through October 2011.
Cancer Pain
Research Provides New Insights into Cancer-Induced Pain
A new study suggests that when prostate cancer invades an organ, the sensory nerve fibers that innervate the tumor undergo a change that generates and amplifies cancer pain. This suggests that the earlier therapies are initiated to block the pathological reorganization and sprouting of nerves, the better control clinicians will have in addressing cancer pain.
End of Life
Pain Common at End of Life
Many patients experience significant and unnecessary pain during the last two years of life, particularly if they have arthritis, a large population-based study found.
Fibromyalgia
Restless Leg Syndrome Linked to Fibromyalgia
Restless leg syndrome is about 10 times more common in people with fibromyalgia than those without, which might be one reason people with fibromyalgia often report difficulty sleeping.
Let's Talk Pain
Let’s Talk Pain Medication Safety Series
As a resource for people with pain, their families and/or their caregivers, the Let's Talk Pain Coalition has created a Web-based series for them that discusses the appropriate use of opioids, over-the-counter medications and medical devices.
Military/Veterans
Honor Our Veterans on November 11
The American Pain Foundation honors the service and sacrifice of all military veterans this Veterans Day. Visit the Exit Wounds website to learn more about APF’s Military/Veterans and Pain Initiative and check out 10 Things You Can Do This Veterans Day to honor veterans living with pain.
Yoga
Fibromyalgia Bends to Yoga
A little bit of yoga may take away some of the debilitating symptoms of fibromyalgia, results of a pilot study show. Patients who stretched and meditated once a week had significantly greater improvements in symptom scores, including pain, fatigue, and depression.
SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Examining OARSI Guidelines: Applying New Data in Clinical Practice
In recent years, the scope and direction of osteoarthritis (OA) treatment have been rapidly changing, fueled by new research, new techniques and improved education. However, improved education often has not reached those on the frontline of OA treatment—creating a gap between research and clinical practice.
Effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies for Back and Neck Pain
According to a recent review published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the benefits of CAM therapies for back and neck pain are modest in size but provide more benefit than usual medical care. Researchers at the University of Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center reviewed the scientific literature on the efficacy, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and harms of acupuncture, spinal manipulation, mobilization, and massage techniques in management of back, neck, and thoracic pain.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
ChronicPainTX.com
Chronic pain presents diagnostic, treatment, and legal challenges for clinicians. ChronicPainTX.com is designed to provide educational resources to clinicians who are interested in improving their management of chronic pain. Activities can be taken for physician continuing medical education credit and are free of charge. In some instances, activities have been additionally accredited for non-physician health care professionals (e.g., nurses, pharmacists). These activities were developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation, the Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Current programs include:
A Case-Based Approach to the Safe and Effective Use of Opioid Therapy in Primary Care
This CME/CE case activity was developed by Paul Arnstein, RN, PhD, FNP-C, Bill McCarberg, MD, and Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD and focuses on issues relating to the prescription of opioid analgesics for the management of chronic pain. This activity was designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients by providing several unique primary care perspectives.
Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice: Practical Risk Assessment in the Structuring of Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain
The faculty authors of this CME/CE supplement, Perry G. Fine, MD and Russell K. Portenoy, MD, discuss not only how to assess abuse risk in chronic pain patients being considered for opioid therapy, but also how to position opioid therapy in the overall management of chronic pain. This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Neuro Film Festival
People who have loved ones affected by a brain disorder or have been affected by a disorder themselves are encouraged to share their story by submitting a short video to the 2011 Neuro Film Festival competition at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com. The contest aims to raise awareness through video about the need to raise more money for research into the prevention, treatment and cure of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, autism, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. The deadline for video submissions is February 15, 2011, at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com. Winners of the 2011 Neuro Film Festival could win up to $1,000 and a chance to attend the Neuro Film Festival in Hawaii on April 10, 2011, in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology’s 63rd Annual Meeting.
EVENTS
Public
November 17-18, 2010
Regional Symposia on Minorities, the Medically Underserved & Cancer
New Orleans
December 10-11, 2010
Regional Symposia on Minorities, the Medically Underserved & Cancer
New York City
November 22, 2010
Medication Safety – Disposal of Unused Medications and Keeping Medications Safe
Wheaton, MD
December 4-5, 2010
Neuropathy Summit
Washington, DC
Professional
November – December 2010
American Headache Society Chronic Migraine Education Program
Various locations
December 2-5, 2010
NANS Annual Meeting
Las Vegas
February 10-12, 2011
Musculoskeletal Disorders and Chronic Pain
Los Angeles
March 24-27, 2011
American Academy of Pain Medicine Annual Meeting
Washington, DC
For more events happening around the country or to submit an event of your own, please visit our Events page.
Thank you to our medical/science editor Robert Twillman, PhD.
The American Pain Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that relies upon private donations to fund its programs, services, and distribution of educational materials. There are millions of people who live with unrelieved chronic pain. If you can help, please make a donation to the American Pain Foundation. For other ways you can support APF’s work, please visit our website at www.painfoundation.org.
To make sure you continue to receive our newsletters and alerts, please add editor@painfoundation.org to your address book or approved sender list.
November 3, 2010
No: HQ-10-215
Contact: FEMA News Desk
Phone: 202-646-3272
FEMA ISSUES NEW GUIDANCE TO SUPPORT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DURING DISASTERS
WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced new guidelines on emergency sheltering to help state planners and non-profit organizations ensure that people with access and functional needs receive lawful and equitable assistance in the aftermath of a disaster.
The Functional Needs Support Services Guidance, or FNSS, gives state governments recommendations to help them provide emergency sheltering services that meet the needs of their communities and are in compliance with existing federal laws designed to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability. These laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Stafford Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Architectural Barriers Act and the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act.
"At FEMA, we don't plan for easy, we plan for real -- and that means doing a better job of meeting the needs of people with disabilities when a disaster strikes," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "We have to start by supporting and encouraging our entire emergency management team, including our state and local partners, to integrate the needs of people with disabilities into all of their planning. These guidelines are an important step forward in these efforts, and will help ensure that shelters better meet the needs of evacuees with disabilities, from providing sleeping arrangements, to meeting hygiene and dietary needs, to accommodating for service animals."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in every five Americans has some type of disability. The FNSS guidance encourages emergency managers to integrate the needs of people with disabilities - and all populations in their communities - into every aspect of their planning for disaster preparedness, response and recovery operations.
Planning for the whole community and incorporating the needs of people with disabilities into disaster operations has been a top priority for Fugate since coming to FEMA. In September, FEMA hosted its first-ever "Getting Real" conference, which brought together stakeholders from the disability and emergency management communities to discuss how we can better partner together and integrate the needs of people with disabilities into our emergency planning. Read more about this conference.
Learn more about FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination and find out more about the Functional Needs Support Services Guidance.
FEMA's mission is to support our first responders and ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
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Medicare Model Guidelines 2012-2014: Open for Public Comment
(November 2, 2010)
Call to action: Request that fibromyalgia be included as a therapeutic category
ACT NOW AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) has created the Model Guidelines Expert Panel, which is responsible for reviewing and updating the USP Medicare Model Guidelines v5.0. This is the document used by prescription drug plans to determine medication coverage. People affected by pain have a chance to speak out and request that fibromyalgia be included as a therapeutic category. Currently, there is no such classification option.
The public has been invited into the decision-making process and can submit public comments from November 1 to November 30, 2010.
The Model Guidelines Expert Panel will deliberate through early 2011. They will:
For more information, see: http://www.usp.org/hqi/mmg/.
If fibromyalgia fails to be included as a therapeutic category, the FDA-indicated medications approved for managing fibromyalgia will continue to be left out of the Medicare Model Guidelines as recognized pain treatments. This reinforces the misconception that fibromyalgia is not a legitimate medical condition and this oversight may cause the continual denial of insurance coverage for appropriate pain treatment options of this painful condition.
Let the USP know that:
Thank you for helping protect the rights of people with pain!
American Pain Foundation
To Connect and Support our Efforts:
Safety Alert: Voluntary Recall
October 26, 2010
Actavis Announces a Voluntary Recall of Transdermal Fentanyl 25 mcg
Actavis, a generic drug manufacturer, issued a voluntary recall of 18 lots of their 25 mcg Fentanyl patch on October 21, 2010. One lot was found to be defective, causing the medication to release too quickly into the bloodstream. This lot, along with 17 others, has been recalled. According to Actavis, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and wholesale and retail pharmacies have been notified.
For a listing of the affected lots, visit the Actavis website: http://www.actavis.us/en/Fentanyl_Recall.htm
Regretfully, the company has failed to require the public to return their affected lots. As of October 25, the company’s website states, “Consumers are not being asked to return any product as this issue does not pose a threat of a serious injury or death.” Rapid absorption could lead to unintentional side effects such as increased sedation, nausea, vomiting and slowed breathing. The American Pain Foundation strongly urges Actavis to reconsider its first advisory and extend the recall to consumers.
Individuals who have these lots in their possession should:
To Connect and Support our Efforts:
APF is committed to reaching out to our members to help us better understand how pain affects an individual’s daily life. The goal of this survey is to ask health care providers to identify key issues facing cancer survivors who are not actively being treated for the disease, but are still experiencing pain. For this survey, a cancer survivor is defined as any patient who has completed his or her initial cancer treatment and has no apparent evidence of the active disease. Additionally, this survey is designed to gain insight into how clinicians are managing cancer survivors.
The information gathered through the survey questions will be used to develop educational programming targeted to health care providers.
Please take a moment to complete the survey www.surveymonkey.com/s/paindoc. All responses are anonymous and the survey takes approximately five minutes to complete. The deadline for survey submissions is November 5, 2010.
Thank you! Your insights will help us design educational programming that will better serve you.
To Connect and Support our Efforts:
The Pain Monitor is a monthly electronic publication of the American Pain Foundation. We want to keep you abreast of recent media attention given to topics that are related to pain care or living with pain. This information is provided for educational and information purposes only. Readers may wish to print the information and discuss it with their doctor. Always consult with health care providers before starting or changing any treatment. Below are links to news articles, feature stories and timely information that have come to our attention. Please pass them along to others who might benefit. We encourage you to send any comments you may have to the authors or publishers directly. Every voice counts when working towards improving pain care in our nation.
NEWS
Thank you for joining us for the Virtual March on Washington and helping to make September Pain Awareness Month the best yet! The Virtual March received more than 8,000 visitors and over 1,500 people took action by joining the march, sending letters to their legislators and submitting comments to the FDA regarding Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). Seventy-three collaborating organizations endorsed the march and utilized their resources to help spread the word and raise awareness. Thank you for helping to alert our legislators to this critical healthcare crisis and request their help for change.
APF Launches Initiative to Educate Consumers and Providers about the Safe Use of Pain Therapies
PainSAFE™ (Pain Safety & Access For Everyone) is a new initiative that educates people with pain and health care professionals about the appropriate and safe use of pain management therapies in an effort to reduce risk and improve access to quality pain care. Patient safety is a pressing health care challenge that affects millions of people. Pain management therapies provide significant benefits to people with pain but no treatment option – including the decision not to treat pain – is without risk. Visit www.painsafe.org to explore the information and resources available to you.
10,000 Voices Campaign
The 10,000 Voices campaign launched during September Pain Awareness Month will continue year round! Add your voice to the Virtual Wall of Voices. Your stories of struggle, hope and inspiration will be used to illustrate the range of problems with pain management in America and inspire others to overcome the barriers that they face in their pain journey.
'Prescribed Music' Could Ease Pain or Depression
It is hoped that the research may lead to music being used to bring folks out of a depression or even help with pain management.
Not All Chest Pain Treated Equally in U.S. Hospitals
Blacks, Hispanics, uninsured seem less likely than whites to get immediate emergency room care.
Emergency Visits for Stomach Pain Rose Over Decade
More Americans are visiting hospital emergency departments because of abdominal pain, but the percentage of emergency visits that involve chest pain are decreasing, a new government report shows.
Ginger Effective for Muscle Pain Relief
A new study has suggested that daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger are effective for relieving muscle pain following strenuous exercise.
No Help for OA With Popular Supplements
Clinical trials of glucosamine and chondroitin have failed to demonstrate a clinically significant benefit for patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis, a meta-analysis found.
The Efficacy of Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Chronic Pain
Findings from a meta-analysis suggest that web-based interventions for chronic pain result in small pain reductions in the intervention group compared with waiting-list control groups.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Avoiding Sexual Contact Can Worsen Vulvovaginal Pain
Chronic vulvovaginal pain affecting millions of women can be mitigated by the response from the woman's partner. However, these responses can also exacerbate the condition, particularly if sexual activity is avoided, a Canadian study showed.
Anger Increases Pain in Women
Negative emotions worsen pain in women with and without fibromyalgia, researchers say.
APF NEWS
National Survey of Physicians Reveals Misperceptions about Opioid Misuse and Abuse
Findings from a new national survey sponsored by the American Pain Foundation reveal that a majority of physicians believe only a small number of their patients misuse or abuse opioids with a legitimate prescription and underestimate the prevalence of tampering with the medication delivery system when opioid abuse occurs. The purpose of the survey was to gain a better understanding of prescriber awareness of opioid misuse and abuse, including prevalence, patient discussions, attitude and sources of misuse and abuse. Learn more about the survey results by viewing the survey summary and press release.
ADVOCACY UPDATE
Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with the pharmaceutical industry and stakeholders to develop Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for certain classes of medication, including opioid medications. It is critical that the FDA hears from organizations and individuals concerned about the availability of and access to pain medicines. Without careful consideration of the voice of people who live with pain, REMS have the potential to further limit access to important and often life-saving medications. The comment period for REMS has been extended until October 19, 2010. Click here to see how you can submit your comments.
APF ACTION NETWORK
Action Network leaders, advocates and members of allied organizations around the country were very busy this September. Twenty-eight proclamations declaring September Pain Awareness Month were secured in states, counties and cities across the country. The guiding theme of “Uniting our Voices, Conquering Pain Together” was successfully demonstrated throughout the month as dedicated advocates joined together and spoke out about the undertreatment of pain in local communities, with the media and via the internet. Thank you to all the dedicated APF Action Network leaders, advocates and collaborating organizations who helped make this September such a success!
Leaders continue to conduct events into October and beyond. Check out the Action Network website for more information and see how you can get involved!
We have put Puerto Rico on the Action Network leader map! We would like to introduce Yazmin Rodriguez, our new Action Network leader in Puerto Rico. Yazmin is both a person with pain and mother to a daughter living with Reflex Sympathetic Disorder. Welcome to the Network!
Please check out our Network in Action and Events pages for more information.
CONNECT
PainAid Online Support Community
PainAid provides Chat Rooms (regularly scheduled chats on different issues), Discussion Boards (threaded message boards on a broad variety of topics), and Ask the Expert feature (pose questions to licensed healthcare professionals). PainAid is staffed by highly qualified volunteers with a range of backgrounds, all of whom either live with chronic pain or care for people who do. Visit PainAid for more information.
Voices of People with Pain
If you are a person with pain or know someone who lives with pain, we invite you to share your story. Read others' stories or share your own.
Webinar and Teleconference Replays
All APF webinars and teleconferences are archived for on-demand viewing. Make sure to check out our chat transcripts and join us at PainAid for future daily and special chats. Sign up to receive notifications of future webinars and teleconferences.
Other ways to get involved in our efforts:
SPOTLIGHT ON PAIN
The American Pain Foundation “Spotlights” are educational campaigns that highlight specific pain conditions or populations of people that experience pain. Spotlights bring focus to an issue offering a variety of ways for people to learn more about the topic, gain support, and take action. Click here for more information about our spotlights.
Acute Pain
Touching Own Injury 'Cuts Pain'
Touching is an important way of sending a picture of our body to our brain. There may be a very good reason why people clutch a painful area of their body after receiving an injury, according to a study.
Back Pain
Causes of Chronic Lower Back Pain
Chronic lower back pain can be associated with certain other manifestations including sleep disturbances, depression, tiredness, irritability, morning stiffness as well as with an inability to maintain the same posture for prolonged time duration.
Breakthrough Cancer Pain
American Pain Foundation Addresses Breakthrough Cancer Pain
People who have cancer often experience pain from the cancer itself, treatment for it or conditions related to it. Unfortunately, cancer-related pain, and breakthrough cancer pain in particular, are poorly understood. APF’s Breakthrough Cancer Pain: A Break in the Continuum of Care offers a glimpse into why cancer-related pain and specifically breakthrough pain is such a pressing issue. This summary explores the challenges and strategies to improve pain care among those in active treatment and remission. A more extensive report and call to action will be released later this fall. As an added feature, we are pleased to share with you APF’s breakthrough cancer pain video which is available on YouTube. For more information, visit our breakthrough cancer pain online guide.
Caregivers
A Soft Place to Fall for Exhausted Caregivers
Writer moved to pen guidebook after looking after his sick, aging parents.
End of Life
Ethical Decision Making With End-Of-Life Care: Mayo Clinic Review
In a review article published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, physicians differentiate the ethical and legal permissibility of withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments and accepted comfort measures from that of physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia Pain: Gender & Racial Bias in Treatment
All patients are not created equal when it comes to getting proper pain treatment, according to a study published in The Journal of Pain.
Let's Talk Pain
Let’s Talk Pain Medication Safety Series
As a resource for people with pain, their families and/or their caregivers, the Let's Talk Pain Coalition has created a Web-based series for them that discusses the appropriate use of opioids, over-the-counter medications and medical devices.
Explain Your Pain
We've all been there: Sitting on a paper-covered examination table, waiting for half an hour to have a five-minute conversation, leaving with more questions than answers. Doctor visits can be frustrating, but with the right preparation, you can get much more from your experience.
Military/Veterans
Traumatic Brain Injury Leaves an Often-Invisible, Life-Altering Wound
For nearly a decade, the United States has been fighting wars in which soldiers are routinely exposed to brain-rattling blasts that can send ripples of compressed air hurtling through the atmosphere at 1,600 feet per second. Now, the military is struggling to come to terms with an often-invisible wound.
Shingles/PHN
Early Treatment Essential for Shingles
According to physicians at the Mayo Clinic, treatment is most effective if initiated within 72 hours after the appearance of shingles.
Yoga
Yoga Moves for Pain Relief
If you're like me and sit at a desk for most of the day, you probably know that back and neck pain are unfortunate side effects. Certain strength-training moves help you avoid pain by strengthening the muscles around your upper back and shoulders.
SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Epidemiology and Pattern of Care of Breakthrough Cancer Pain in a Longitudinal Sample of Cancer Patients
One hundred and ten centers recruited 1801 cases of which 40.3% had BTcP at baseline. Most patients did not receive rescue therapy at the time of study inclusion. Univariate analysis identified several associations with clinical variables. A strong association has been also found with the type of recruiting centers, with oncologic wards reporting a somewhat lower proportion of patients with BTcP (-30%) when compared with palliative centers.
COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Massage Benefits Are More Than Skin Deep
Does a good massage do more than just relax your muscles? To find out, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage.
Conquering Pain with Acupuncture
While many people are still using mainstream techniques such as medications, physical therapy, diet and exercise to treat pain conditions, others are turning to more alternative practices such as acupuncture.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
ChronicPainTX.com
Chronic pain presents diagnostic, treatment, and legal challenges for clinicians. ChronicPainTX.com is designed to provide educational resources to clinicians who are interested in improving their management of chronic pain. Activities can be taken for physician continuing medical education credit and are free of charge. In some instances, activities have been additionally accredited for non-physician health care professionals (e.g., nurses, pharmacists). These activities were developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation, the Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Current programs include:
A Case-Based Approach to the Safe and Effective Use of Opioid Therapy in Primary Care
This CME/CE case activity was developed by Paul Arnstein, RN, PhD, FNP-C, Bill McCarberg, MD, and Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD and focuses on issues relating to the prescription of opioid analgesics for the management of chronic pain. This activity was designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients by providing several unique primary care perspectives.
Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice: Practical Risk Assessment in the Structuring of Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain
The faculty authors of this CME/CE supplement, Perry G. Fine, MD and Russell K. Portenoy, MD, discuss not only how to assess abuse risk in chronic pain patients being considered for opioid therapy, but also how to position opioid therapy in the overall management of chronic pain. This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Neuro Film Festival
People who have loved ones affected by a brain disorder or have been affected by a disorder themselves are encouraged to share their story by submitting a short video to the 2011 Neuro Film Festival competition at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com. The contest aims to raise awareness through video about the need to raise more money for research into the prevention, treatment and cure of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, autism, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. The deadline for video submissions is February 15, 2011, at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com. Winners of the 2011 Neuro Film Festival could win up to $1,000 and a chance to attend the Neuro Film Festival in Hawaii on April 10, 2011, in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology’s 63rd Annual Meeting.
EVENTS
Public
October 21, 2010
INvisible Project
Connecticut
October 21-23, 2010
Alliance of State Pain Initiatives 21st Annual Meeting: A Decade of Change
Atlanta, GA
October 23, 2010
Facial Pain Association Regional Conference
New York, NY
November 5-7, 2010
GBS/CIDP Foundation to hold 11th International Symposium
King of Prussia, PA
Professional
October - December
American Headache Society Chronic Migraine Education Program
Various locations
November 2-3, 2010
Capital Hospice 12th Annual Josefina Magno Conference
Breathing In, Breathing Out: Inspiration for Holistic Care
Springfield, VA
November 11-14, 2010
International Multidisciplinary Forum on Palliative Care
Budapest, Hungary
For more events happening around the country or to submit an event of your own, please visit our Events page.
Thank you to our medical/science editor Robert Twillman, PhD.
The American Pain Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that relies upon private donations to fund its programs, services, and distribution of educational materials. There are millions of people who live with unrelieved chronic pain. If you can help, please make a donation to the American Pain Foundation. For other ways you can support APF’s work, please visit our website at www.painfoundation.org.
To make sure you continue to receive our newsletters and alerts, please add editor@painfoundation.org to your address book or approved sender list.
The American Pain Foundation (APF) is proud to launch PainSAFE™ (Pain Safety & Access For Everyone), a new initiative that educates people with pain and health care professionals about the appropriate and safe use of pain management therapies in an effort to reduce risk and improve access to quality pain care.
What is PainSAFE?
PainSAFE is a web-based initiative that offers up-to-date information, practical resources and tools to inform consumers about pain treatment options and their safe use. It also includes a central hub of evidence-based information and practice-based tools for health care providers. PainSAFE was created with input from expert advisors, people living with pain and allied organizations to address safety related to all pain management therapies. The content of PainSAFE will continue to evolve and adapt as scientific and policy research uncovers new findings about pain treatment and safety and the real-world effects of recommended approaches.
How can PainSAFE help you?
Patient safety is a pressing health care challenge that affects millions of people. Pain management therapies provide significant benefits to people with pain but no treatment option – including the decision not to treat pain – is without risk.
PainSAFE can empower and educate both consumers and health care providers about the safe use of pain management therapies, thereby helping to reduce risk and improve access to quality pain care.
Learn more about PainSAFE
Visit PainSAFE at www.painsafe.org to explore the information and resources available to you. Spread the word. Share this with your family members, friends and your pain management team members.
Sincerely,
American Pain Foundation
To Connect and Support our Efforts:
Description of Supplement Activity
Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice: Practical Risk Assessment in the Structuring of Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain
The faculty authors of this CME/CE supplement, Perry G. Fine, MD, and Russell K. Portenoy, MD, discuss not only how to assess abuse risk in patients with chronic pain being considered for opioid therapy, but also how to position opioid therapy in the overall management of chronic pain. This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists who treat pain and patients with chronic pain. This activity was developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation and the Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse.
To view both activities please visit: http://www.ChronicPainTX.com.
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