A group of national healthcare organizations has established the Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management (AACIPM), a multi-stakeholder collaborative to promote comprehensive integrative pain management for the over 50 million Americans living with inadequately treated pain.
The organization noted that many challenges to assessing, diagnosing, and managing pain. Many barriers currently exist between people living with pain and evidence-based, comprehensive treatment options such as physical therapy, acupuncture, cognitive behavioral therapy, nerve block injections, massage therapy, or chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, and innovation in pain treatment techniques such as neuromodulation and regenerative medicine.
“We need to connect the dots for the 50 million people living with chronic pain in the United States,” said Vanila Singh, M.D., Stanford physician and former chief medical officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in a statement. As chair of the congressionally mandated HHS Pain Management Task Force, Singh noted, “patient-centered healthcare experts in the various specialties and disciplines can together provide a comprehensive integrative approach to those patients that need it. Healthcare providers can better serve those who suffer from various painful conditions, which would result in improved functionality and overall quality of life.”
AACIPM includes leaders from more than 75 organizations representing policy experts, people living with pain, patient and caregiver advocates, public and private insurers, government agencies, researchers, purchasers of healthcare, and a full spectrum of healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of comprehensive integrative pain management who are united in their interest in advocating for policies that increase access and invest in ongoing research focused on this approach. These policies include increased education for health care providers, and suggested standards for insurers and purchasers to abide by when adopting guidelines and coverage policies related to the availability and cost of comprehensive integrative pain management.
“The Alliance is focused on changing the way we approach and talk about caring for people with pain. We are helping providers, patients, and third parties truly understand the varied and multifactorial components of pain, its impact on the U.S. health care system, and detriment to citizens’ productivity,” said Amy Goldstein, Director of AACIPM. “Getting key stakeholders on the same page, we can effectively advocate for policy changes that increase access to best practices in pain management.”
This year and throughout 2020, AACIPM plans to publish white papers, conduct pilot programs, and construct strategic policy recommendations. It will also host a pain policy conference in May 2020. This effort is supported by a grant from The David and Lura Lovell Foundation.
