Ask The Experts
Q: Healthcare in the country is changing. What are physicians doing to make sure that patients will still receive the best care possible?
As the Vice-President and Secretary of the Arizona Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, a local chapter of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), we take our titles and the responsibilities that come with them seriously. Healthcare is changing, and we felt we needed to step up and use our knowledge and perseverance by running for these offices.
We both are very honored by the election outcome and we will collectively strive to preserve our patients’ access to much needed pain management care. We hope to become more active in the state of Arizona by raising more awareness on a legislative level. As a first step in becoming involved, we attended the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians’ Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The conference focused on the challenges ahead for healthcare as well as how we can best prepare for our specialty’s future in light of the recent healthcare reform. At the conclusion of the ASIPP conference, we met with the staff members for Senators McCain and Kyl, and Representatives Shadegg, Mitchell, and Franks.
We discussed a couple of issues that are very important to us:
- We lobbied on behalf of the National Pain Care Policy Act, which identifies several goals to increase awareness and education for both healthcare providers and the general public regarding pain management. The bill also encourages increased research efforts into the causes of pain and potential treatments through the National Institutes of Health. Lastly, the bill would require the convening of an Institute of Medicine conference on pain care which would then report its findings to Congress. We stressed to the lawmakers that unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately one out of five people suffer from chronic pain. In fact, pain in the lower back area is the primary reason that patients visit their primary care doctors. Portions of the National Pain Care Policy Act were authorized under the healthcare reform legislation, and they are currently awaiting funding through the appropriations process in Congress. We will keep everyone posted on the outcome.
- We discussed the reauthorization of the NASPER (National All Schedules Electronic Reporting) program. The NASPER bill provides the reauthorization of funding to states that develop and maintain databases to help prevent misuse of prescription narcotic pain medications. Prescription narcotic pain medications are now only second to marijuana as the top drugs of abuse in the United States. Particularly concerning is “the number of teenagers who have sought rehabilitation treatment for addiction to prescription medications has increased 300% in the past 10 years.” Prescription drug abuse is responsible for more deaths than motor vehicle accidents in 16 states. The preservation of these databases, and better coordination between the states that have them, will serve to preserve the availability of these medications for patients who truly need them.
Overall, we felt our mission on Capitol Hill was a success. We were able to interact with numerous Members of Congress, as well as their health policy advisors to educate them on these important issues facing those who suffer from pain. We hope this trip is the beginning of a long and successful process of improving patient care.
Dr. Patrick Hogan, DO, Vice-President of the Arizona Chapter of ASIPP
