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September is National Pain Awareness Month

Members & Publications

September 1, 2015

Pain Awareness Month was first acknowledged in 2001 to increase awareness about the effects of pain, educate citizens about the advanced treatment options available to help alleviate pain, and provide resources for individuals and families who are struggling with pain management.

Pain Fast Facts:

  • Nearly 100 million Americans experience chronic pain—more than those who have diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.
  • 83 million Americans indicate that pain affects basic functioning in their everyday lives.
  • Workers lose an average of 4.6 hours per week of productive time due to a pain condition.
Lack of pain management training has been cited as one of the barriers to effective pain management. One of the main goals of Pain Awareness Month is to raise awareness and open the lines of communication between health care professionals and individuals so that pain management issues can be better understood and addressed.​
Pain Management Track at the 2015 Annual Assembly
Pain management and spine medicine take center stage at this year’s Annual Assembly as 1 of 8 educational tracks being offered during the 4-day event. 
 
New this year—the Summit for Innovations in Spine Care—where innovators will share real-world experiences in building scalable, sustainable spine care models. We also have a special focus on helping patients overcome pain across all clinical tracks. View a complete list of pain/spine tracks.
 
Register now​ for this must-attend event!
The Academy is an active partner on the American Medical Association’s Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse. 
Learn more about how AAPM&R, along with the Task Force, is addressing America’s opioid crisis:
Academy Member Helps Craft National Pain Management Strategy 
As a member of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC), Dr. Steven P. Stanos, Jr., DO, was instrumental in helping draft the National Pain Management Strategy (NPS).
 
The NPS draft report was released on April 2, 2015 for a 60-day public comment period. The final NPS release is pending and under review by the Department of Health and Human Services.  This document includes objectives and plans related to key areas of pain and pain care, including professional education and training, public education and communication, service delivery and reimbursement, prevention and care, disparities, and population research. 
 
The IPRCC was charged by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health to create a comprehensive population health level strategy for pain prevention, treatment, management, and research.
 
Dr. Stanos is currently Medical Director of the Swedish Pain and Headache Center, Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, and Medical Director of Occupational Medicine Services at Swedish Spine, Sports and Musculoskeletal Medicine, Swedish Medical Group. Read the full article in the September issue of The Physiatrist on page 6​.
 
Read more about National Pain Strategy​ efforts.
 

Legislation Introduced to Alleviate Impact of Conversion Factor Cut for 2021

Nov 09, 2020

Last month, two bills were introduced in the House proposing solutions to the estimated 10.6% Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor cut expected to go into effect January 1, 2021.  The bills offer some relief to the cut, but do not reflect a comprehensive or long-term solution.  AAPM&R has therefore chosen to remain neutral regarding these bills. 

Your Academy continues to advocate for a permanent solution to the conversion factor cut while maintaining the important payment increases to office and outpatient evaluation and management services.

 

 

 

 

 

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