ASPI E-Newsletter

The ASPI E-Newsletter is an e-mail update on pain related issues and events and the activities of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives. To receive the ASPI E-Newsletter, please email Ronna Popkin at rapopkin@wisc.edu
Click here for past E-Newsletters.

March 2008 E-Newsletter

Implementing the DEA Multiple Prescriptions Rule: Cautions & Steps

Joint Commission Issues Draft Palliative Care Standards for Comment

State Pain Initiatives in Action: Montana Pain Initiative

Psychosocial Pain Assessment Forms in Spanish

Pain in the News: Women with Breast Cancer Discuss Pain

Implementing the DEA Multiple Prescriptions Rule: Cautions & Steps

The recent DEA rule, Issuance of Multiple Prescriptions for Schedule II Controlled Substances, has been heralded as good news throughout the pain community. This ruling allows licensed prescribers to write multiple prescriptions for Schedule II drugs with staggered fill dates, thus providing patients with the equivalent of a 90-day supply of medication when appropriate. However, because states can enact controlled substances laws that are more stringent than federal laws, experts have raised concerns that the rule may not be consistent with the laws and regulations in certain states. For example, in some states prescriptions are only valid for a very limited period of time, such as one week, which would therefore prohibit implementation of the federal rule.

As the laws and regulations pertaining to the prescribing of controlled substances vary considerably from state to state, the ASPI urges State Pain Initiatives to carefully review their state laws and regulations and to consult with their state medical, nursing, and pharmacy boards and controlled substances authority to determine if practitioners in their state can implement the new federal regulation. In addition, in states where the federal rule is in accordance with state law, the ASPI urges Initiatives to work with their state licensing boards to ensure that information about the regulation is clearly communicated to all practitioners who are licensed to prescribe or dispense Schedule II controlled substances in their state.

Joint Commission Issues Draft Palliative Care Standards for Comment

The Joint Commission recently released proposed standards for Palliative Care, and is encouraging palliative care providers to submit feedback on the draft standards by April 8, 2008. The standards will be part of the Joint Commission’s Health Care Services Certification Program, a new evaluation program that is scheduled to launch in August 2008. Click here to learn more about the draft standards and the new certification program.

State Pain Initiatives in Action: Montana Pain Initiative

The Montana Pain Initiative (MTPI), one of the newest additions to the State Pain Initiative network, has recently developed several comprehensive resources and engaged in a wide range of successful programs and activities that can serve as valuable models for other State Pain Initiatives. In April 2007, MTPI coordinated its first public event: “Politics of Pain: Improving Pain Management Policy in Montana.” More than 75 pain management providers, advocates, and consumers from across the state attended this momentum-building education and advocacy conference. During the fall of 2007, a group of MTPI participants worked diligently to develop a detailed five-year strategic plan, and in February 2008, the Initiative released an extremely thorough white paper on improving pain management in Montana.

Currently, through a partnership grant from the ASPI and Lance Armstrong Foundation, MTPI is coordinating a Pain Improvement Partnership program, an effort to improve the institutional structures and practices related to pain management in 14 different health care organizations in Montana. The participants of MTPI are also busy working on two additional projects: finalizing the development of their website, MTPain.org, that is scheduled to launch this spring, and planning a conference on balanced pain management policy and practice that will be held September 5- 6, 2008 in Missoula, MT. This energetic and growing Initiative is an inspiring role model for other State Pain Initiatives. To find out more about the Montana Pain Initiative and its excellent projects, programs, and materials, please contact Kaye Norris or Kristin Nei.

Psychosocial Pain Assessment Forms in Spanish

The Pain and Palliative Care Resource Center of City of Hope recently translated their Psychosocial Pain Assessment Form into Spanish. There are two Spanish language versions available: one for adults and one for children/adolescents. If you have questions regarding these forms and/or their use, please contact Shirley Otis Green, MSW, LCSW.

Pain in the News: Women with Breast Cancer Discuss Pain

Researchers at the University of Toronto recently conducted a study of breast cancer patients’ experiences with pain. Their comprehensive interviews with 18 women indicate that persons with breast cancer frequently lack knowledge about pain management options and services and hold many common misconceptions about pain medications. As a follow-up to this study, the researchers are developing an interactive Internet tool to educate persons with breast cancer about pain management and improve communication between patients and providers.

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The Alliance of State Pain Initiatives and the University of Wisconsin-Madison do not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process described in the E-Newsletter, and the reference to any of these resources does not imply endorsement.

Contact Us: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Rm 4720 1300 University Ave Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608) 265-4013 Fax: (608) 265-4014 aspi@mailplus.wisc.edu