A
mission to transform the way pain is perceived, judged and treated.
EDUCATING –
ENGAGING - ADVOCATING
I
can’t think of a better time than Pain Awareness Month to make the following
announcement.
As
many of you know, I have had the pleasure of sharing
information and participating in the Center for Practical Bioethics
initiative, the PAINS Project. I have encouraged you to join me. My
participation has allowed me to connect with many wonderful, caring people and
organizations that have been an integral part
 |
Myra, Jan Chambers (NFMCPA), and myself
2012 PAINS Conference |
of PAINS, Pain Action Alliance to
Implement a National Strategy, spearheaded by my friend Myra Christopher. Myra
has an innate ability to connect people, serve on their behalf, and I think
those who know her would agree a stubbornness to accept the status quo. Her service
to others is exemplified in her work. Myra has retired, but her vision and her
work will continue.
I
have also shared a great deal with you from Bob Twillman, Executive Director at
the Academy of Integrative Pain Management. That is because we share the same objectives
and values that reflect patient centered care. I cannot think of a better
organization to take the PAINS Project under their wing. The AIPM has been
actively engaged with the Center for Practical Bioethics initiative since the
very beginning. Forward we go…
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Statements from the Center for Practical Bioethics and the Academy
of Integrative Pain Management on the transition of the PAINS Project (Effective
August 1, 2018)
John
G. Carney, President/CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics
The leadership that AIPM has exhibited in the complex arena of
pain care treatment ensures that the investment the Center has made over the
last decade will continue and flourish. The Academy’s commitment to excellence
in interdisciplinary, patient-centered and evidence-based care with virtually
every stakeholder group provides the confidence the Center needed in
transitioning our work as Myra Christopher retires.
Those living with chronic pain rely on strong, respected and
accomplished organizations to advance person-centered, integrative models of
care by uniting clinicians in the fight against chronic pain. AIPM fits that
profile and we are pleased and grateful that AIPM has agreed to honor the
mission of the PAINS project and the decade long charitable efforts of the
Center in this duty of care to vulnerable patients.
Clay Jackson, President of the Board of the Academy of Integrative
Pain Management
At AIPM, we are grateful for the tremendous work that has been
accomplished by everyone involved in the PAINS Project, and we feel that
important milestones such as the publication of the National Pain Strategy would
have been impossible to achieve without their commitment to patient advocacy
and sound medical evidence.
As the only professional organization comprising members of every
discipline that treats persons with pain, AIPM is uniquely positioned to
continue to serve as the central repository of information regarding best
practices in integrative pain care, and as a powerful force for advocating for
making those treatments available to all patients.
________________________________________________________________________
EXCERPTS:
With
financial support from PAINS, the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC),
and the Alliance for Balanced Pain Management, AIPM convened the first
Integrative Pain Care Policy Congress in October 2017. This first-of-its-kind
meeting brought together more than 75 participants from more than 50
organizations, representing professional societies covering the full scope of
licensed and certified healthcare providers, patient advocacy organizations,
governmental agencies, private payers, and other important stakeholders. In a
monumental task, these disparate parties agreed on a consensus definition of
comprehensive integrative pain management, one that closely mirrors a
definition previously offered in a PAINS policy brief:
Comprehensive
Integrative Pain Management includes biomedical, psychosocial, complementary
health, and spiritual care. It is person-centered and focuses on maximizing
function and wellness. Care plans are developed through a shared
decision-making model that reflects the available evidence regarding optimal clinical
practice and the person’s goals and values…
PAINS’
six-year experience with its Citizen/Leaders Advisory Group demonstrates the strength of character, stamina, and ingenuity of
chronic pain sufferers and their family caregivers. Those who have advised
leaders of the PAINS Project are not only committed to helping themselves but
also to helping others who cannot engage in reform efforts because of physical
limitations—those who are often isolated, stigmatized and falsely accused of
being drug seekers. This perception must change. As recent media is
beginning to tell stories of chronic pain sufferers as well as those of people
living with opioid use disorders which have dominated media coverage for
several years, stereotypes are beginning to be dispelled, and ultimately these
narratives will fuel reform efforts…
[comment: I was gifted with the opportunity to be an inaugural participant of the PAINS-KC patient leadership group thanks to the encouragement of Myra Christopher.]
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Be
sure to bookmark the new social media handles.
In healing,
Think adversity?-See opportunity!
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