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Pain and Chemical Dependency News
The University of Wisconsin Pain and Policy Studies Group (PPSG) evaluated
drug control and professional practice policies that can influence use of controlled
substances for pain management and documented changes over a 3-year period.
The aims of this study were to evaluate change between 2000 and 2003 of state
policy that can affect pain relief; describe content differences for statutes,
regulations, guidelines, and policy statements; evaluate differences between
policies specific to pain management and policies governing general healthcare
practice; and compare content of policies specific to pain management created
by healthcare regulatory boards to those created by state legislatures.
The results showed that more current policies, especially policies regulating
health professionals, tend to encourage pain management and avoid language that
restricts professional decision-making and patient treatment. In addition, pain
policies from healthcare regulatory boards were generally less restrictive than
statutes or policies that govern general healthcare practice.
These findings suggest that the positive policy change results primarily from
state medical, pharmacy, and nursing boards adopting policies promoting pain
management and the use of opioids, while containing few if any restrictions.
Despite this improvement, further progress can be made when states continue
to abolish additional restrictions or clinically obsolete provisions from policies.
PPSG policy evaluations provide guidance to lawmakers, healthcare regulators,
and clinicians who are striving to achieve balanced policy, an attainable but
redoubtable goal, to benefit patient care. Gilson AM, Maurer MA, Joranson DE.
Adapted from Health Policy. 2005 Oct;74(2):192-204.
Read more: PMID 16153479
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16153479&query_hl=12
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the
National Library of Medicine (NLM).
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