An HHS task force issued a draft report calling for individualized, patient-centered pain management protocols.
Here's what you should know:
1. The Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force comprises 29 members, including healthcare providers with expertise in pain management, patient advocacy, substance use disorders, mental health and minority health. The task force was formed as a result of the 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.
2. The task force recommends that providers take a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain; a multi-modal approach to acute pain in the surgical, injury burn and trauma setting; addressing drug shortages and stigma; and improving education and access to care.
3. After a 90-day public comment period, preliminary recommendations included in the draft report will be finalized and submitted to Congress in 2019.
Click here to read the report.