National Pain Care Policy Act

WE NEED HELP AGAIN!

The National Pain Care Policy Act

Congressman Rogers has reintroduced the National Pain Care Policy Act, now renumbered HR 1020, which, among other things, establishes a national center for Pain and Palliative Care Research at the NIH as part of a campaign to raise public awarenss about pain and palliative care, requires NIH to establish programs that develop and advance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of pain and palliative care, and authorizes the HHS to award grants, cooperative agreements, and public/private contracts to further the education and training of healthcare professionals authorizes a White House Conference on Pain Care requires the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to collect and disseminate protocols and evidence-based practices regarding pain and palliative care clinicians and the general public and fund education and training programs for healthcare professionals in pain and palliative requires the DHHS to develop and implement a national outreach and awareness campaign to educate consumers, patients, families, and other caregivers on the signficance of pain as a national public health problem; risks to patients if pain is not treated; and patient's rights This bill is a huge step toward gaining federal recognition of the importance of pain as a critical and unanswered health care problem in America today.

However, with the current media buzz about the 2006 federal budget, it is no secret that funding is going to be tight. This bill will only become reality if every person in America who suffers from chronic pain gets involved; we must all contact our state representative and ask him or her to support this bill.

Write to Your Representative.

We are asking the CRPS/RSD community to become active in this campaign by doing the following: Hand write a personal letter to your representative and urge him/her to co-sponsor this bill. Or, you can call or email your representative and also get a few of your friends to do the same. Make your letter short and personal. Tell your story so your representative can understand how CRPS/RSD impacts your life. Plan a letter-writing gathering in your church, community center, school, workplace, etc. Plan a visit to your representative’s office.

For information on contacting your representatives, please visit the American Pain Foundation (APF) website, http://www.painfoundation.org