New Website to Improve Pain Patients' Communications
with Healthcare Pros
Let's Talk Pain formed by new coalition of to pain
organizations
Sept.
8, 2008 – Senior citizens, most not strangers to pain - one of those
regrettable things associated with aging - may relate to a Website
launched by a new organization that is hoping to improve communications
between pain patients and healthcare professionals.
A nationwide survey found a sizable gap exists
between patients and healthcare professionals when it comes to
understanding and discussing pain. To address this discrepancy, a new
coalition of leading pain management organizations has formed the Let's
Talk Pain Coalition.
The coalition is the first to unite the
perspectives of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to
encourage people to talk more about pain, listen actively, and act in
ways that improve care for the millions of people who live with pain,
according to a news release.
The organizations behind Let's Talk Pain have
created a new interactive Web site,
www.letstalkpain.org, to provide visitors with comprehensive
information and tools to help enhance the dialogue between those
affected by pain and healthcare professionals.
"Pain is one of the nation's leading public health
problems, and it often goes under-treated. It is difficult to diagnose
and challenging to talk about," said Dr. Scott Fishman, Chair and
President of the American Pain Foundation and Chief of the Division of
Pain Medicine and Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of
California at Davis.
"Open lines of communication and strong
patient-professional relationships are what healthcare professionals
strive for, and in pain management this is absolutely vital. This
Coalition is exciting because it aims to help professionals and patients
communicate better in order to help improve pain management."
The Let's Talk Pain Coalition debuts this week at
the American Academy of Pain Management (the Academy) annual meeting in
Nashville, TN. The Academy is one of the founding members of the
Coalition along with the American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN)
and the Coalition's lead organization, the American Pain Foundation (APF).
PriCara, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the
sponsor of the Coalition.
What Is the Impact of Untreated and Undertreated Pain?
By American Pain Society
Pain is the
leading public health problem in this country and the most
common symptom that leads to medical care. It results in more
than 50 million lost workdays each year.
The cost of
pain, including medical bills and lost workdays, is estimated at
$100 billion per year in the U.S. Back pain alone produces
chronic disability in 1 percent of the U.S. population and is
the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45 years old.
As our population ages, the already significant problem of
chronic pain in the elderly will increase.
Today:
● 40 million Americans have arthritis
● More than 26 million Americans, ages 20 to 64, experience
frequent back pain
● Among cancer patients, it is estimated that 70% have
significant pain during their illness, but fewer than half
receive adequate treatment for their pain
● More than 25 million Americans suffer migraine headaches
● 20 million Americans have jaw and lower facial pain (TMD/TMJ)
each year
● Nearly 4 million Americans, mostly women, suffer from
fibromyalgia, a complex condition involving widespread pain and
other symptoms
● Half of all hospitalized patients have moderate to severe
pain in the last days of their lives.
Proper
assessment of pain is crucial for effective treatment. In health
care organizations, providers should view pain as the “Fifth
Vital Sign” and assess it regularly, along with the other vital
signs.
One of the Coalition's first activities was a
national online survey of pain patients and physicians. It revealed the
need for an increase in open and direct conversations about pain and
highlighted the impact pain has on patients' quality of life. The
findings also underscored a disconnect between how patients and
physicians are communicating with each other. Additional barriers such
as lack of trust and not enough time for office visits can affect
communications, and ultimately may influence pain management. According
to the survey:
● Sixty percent of patients strongly agreed that
they can be open and honest about their pain with their physician. Yet,
the same survey found that less than 10 percent of physicians strongly
agreed that their patients tell them the truth about their pain.
● While the majority of physicians, 97 percent,
strongly agreed that there is enough time to discuss pain with their
patients, less than half of patients surveyed, 46 percent, felt the same
way.
● Pain has a substantial impact on the lives of
patients and interferes with their ability to work outside the home and
to exercise.
● Treatment-related side effects can have a
negative impact on the management of pain, causing some patients and
physicians to discontinue using pain medicine.
"Having pain is challenging and has significantly
affected my daily life, to the point where I have had to stop working,"
said Andrea Cooper, a Maryland-based artist who suffers from chronic
pain and is featured in a video on the Let's Talk Pain Web site.
"Pain is an invisible condition. I have learned
that the best way to improve my health and my treatment outcome is
through engaging in an open and personal dialogue with my healthcare
professional and connecting with others to talk about pain."
Andrea's story and the Let's Talk Pain Web site
were previewed during the ASPMN annual conference in Tucson, AZ, for
pain management nurses this past weekend. Several Web features were
highlighted, including:
● Talk: an interactive section where
visitors—pain patients and healthcare professionals alike—can learn
strategies for opening up the lines of communication about pain. Housed
here are video success stories from real patients and healthcare
professionals as well as an interactive Q&A with pain experts.
● Listen: a clearinghouse of essential,
credible information about pain. Here people with pain, healthcare
professionals, caregivers, and family members can become familiar with
pain terms and conditions as well as learn more about how pain is
assessed so that it is easier to start an informed dialogue.
● Act: a section with up-to-date
information on how the Coalition is improving communication within the
pain community.
"Let's Talk Pain offers the first pain resource
that will effectively equip people to improve how they discuss pain so
that the actions taken improve pain outcomes," said Nancy Eksterowicz,
MSN, RN-BC, Department of Anesthesiology Acute Pain Service, University
of Virginia Health System, and President-Elect of ASPMN. "The pain
community has never had one online location for credible information,
nor have we had a place where patients and healthcare professionals can
connect to learn from each others' experiences."
Editor’s Notes
About the Survey
The Let's Talk Pain Coalition commissioned a
national, Internet-based survey of 500 pain patients and 275 physicians
treating pain, including primary care physicians, oncologists, pain
specialists, neurologists, rheumatologists, surgeons, and psychiatrists.
Analytica International, a research firm based in New York, NY,
conducted the survey from April 3 to 11, 2008.
American Pain Foundation
Founded in 1997, the American Pain Foundation (APF)
is an independent nonprofit 501(c)3 organization serving people with
pain through information, advocacy, and support. APF's mission is to
improve the quality of life of people with pain by raising public
awareness, providing practical information, promoting research, and
advocating to remove barriers and to increase access to effective pain
management. For more information, visit
www.painfoundation.org.
American Academy of Pain Management
The American Academy of Pain Management (the
Academy) is a nonprofit organization serving a broad range of clinicians
who treat people with pain through education, information, and advocacy.
Founded in 1988, the Academy has approximately 5,300 members and is the
largest interdisciplinary/integrative pain organization in the United
States.
American Society for Pain Management Nursing
American Society for Pain Management Nursing's
mission is to advance and promote optimal nursing care for people
affected by pain by promoting best nursing practice. This is
accomplished through education, standards, advocacy, and research. Visit
www.aspmn.org.
PriCara™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
PriCara™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a major health care company in the United
States dedicated to the needs of primary care providers who serve a
vital role on the frontline of medicine. For more information about the
company, please visit
www.PriCara.com.
Sept.
8, 2008 – Senior citizens, most not strangers to pain - one of those
regrettable things associated with aging - may relate to a Website
launched by a new organization that is hoping to improve communications
between pain patients and healthcare professionals.