Skip To Navagation Skip To Content

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.

September 2008 E-Newsletter
gotoState Pain Initiatives in Action: Pain Awareness Month
gotoRegistration Open for ASPI 19th Annual Meeting
gotoJoint Commission Urges Patients to “Speak Up” about Pain 
gotoThe National Pain Care Policy Act of 2008 Passes in the House

State Pain Initiatives in Action: Pain Awareness Month

September is Pain Awareness Month and many State Pain Initiatives are taking leadership roles in activities to raise awareness of pain issues in their states and communities. The activities include professional education conferences, public awareness media campaigns, Governors’ proclamations, pain summits, and more.  Click here for a list of events and programs planned in communities across the country.

top top       

Registration Open for ASPI 19th Annual Meeting

Registration is still open for Frontiers in Pain Management: The 19th Annual Meeting of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives, which is being held October 30 – November 1, 2008 at the Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas.  This accredited, interdisciplinary, national forum brings together leaders involved in efforts to address the diverse challenges that impede effective pain control.  The 2008 meeting focuses on cutting edge issues in the practice of pain care and highlights the actions essential to overcoming the organizational, societal, regulatory, attitudinal, and clinical barriers that contribute to the undertreatment of pain.  Participants will be able to share resources and expertise, network with one another, and gain the knowledge and motivation to develop and implement programs to improve the care of persons with pain.  Click here to learn more about the meeting and/or to register.  We hope you will join us at the conference!

top top 

Joint Commission Urges Patients to “Speak Up” about Pain

On September 16, 2008, as part of Pain Awareness Month, the Joint Commission announced that they are launching a national campaign encouraging persons in the U.S. to collaborate with their health care providers in order to effectively manage pain.  The new campaign includes a free, downloadable brochure entitled What You Should Know About Pain Management.  The campaign is part of Speak Up™, the Joint Commission’s patient safety program that helps persons become more active and involved in their health care.  

top top

The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2008 Passes in the House

On September 24, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 2994: The National Pain Care Policy Act 2008.  The current version of the legislation authorizes the Institute of Medicine to convene a conference on pain before June 30, 2009; encourages the National Institutes of Health to continue and expand research initiatives on pain; establishes the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, which will coordinate all efforts related to pain research in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies; requires HHS to establish a national outreach and awareness campaign on pain management; and makes provisions for a grant program focused on enhancing the education and training of health professionals in pain care.  The Senate version of the bill, S 3387, was introduced on July 31, 2008.  To stay informed about and take action on this important legislation as it moves through the Senate, please visit the American Pain Foundation’s Online Advocacy Center.    

top top

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.

ASPI Home | Annual Meeting | About ASPI | State Pain Initiatives | Events | E-Newsletter | Media | Public Policy | Position Statement
Professional Education | Public Education | ASPI Leader Toolbox | Resource Center | Related Links | SPI Leader Login | Legal