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APS Announces New Centers of Excellence Program
APS created the Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards Program to help advance the quality of pain management in the United States by recognizing and rewarding excellence in quality clinical care. Any multidisciplinary program that provides direct patient care and is primarily focused on the treatment of pain is eligible to apply. Nominations will be accepted through January 19, 2007, and winners will be announced by the end of the first quarter of 2007. Applications must be submitted online. APS will recognize award recipients both locally and at a special event during the APS Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, DC, May 2–5, 2007. Special thanks
to the task force whose hard work helped to put this program together:
APS Unveils New Web Site Design The APS Web site has been extensively revamped to improve its functionality and design and lay the foundation for future development. The site last underwent a major renovation more than 5 years ago. The software used to develop the earlier site had aged to the point at which content upkeep and implementation of new features and tools were unnecessarily clumsy, and a new infrastructure was badly needed. To prepare for the redesign, the APS Web Editorial Board undertook a thorough review of the content and functions of the site and made many recommendations. For example, the site search engine software was upgraded and the search features refined to allow users to specify areas of the site to be searched. Search results were modified to present more meaningful abbreviated page contents. Date stamping and expiration dates were implemented in various sections of the site. The hierarchical structure was modified to display some important content more prominently, such as the Special Interest Group pages. Older content was critically reviewed and eliminated. The new site incorporates prominent information about APS’s mission and vision; expanded links to related sites; a directory of fellowship training programs and a form for submitting information on new programs to be listed; a resource center (Press Room) for journalists seeking experts and information about pain; a form for submitting calendar items for posting; important and timely pain news; updated APS position statements; a glossary of pain terminology; and more. The new site provides flexibility and a framework for ongoing development, growth, and new features. Finally, the updated site structure is expected to provide added efficiency for future Web operations. Thank you to the members of the Web Editorial Board for their advice and thorough attention to the APS Web presence. Michael E. Clark,
PhD, Chair Paul Arnstein, PhD RN Stuart W. Derbyshire, PhD Ronald J. Gironda,
PhD William R. Lariviere, PhD Allen H. Lebovits,
PhD Mitch Nazario, PharmD
If you have ideas for adding relevant information or functionality to the APS Web site, be sure to submit your comments to info@ampainsoc.org.
Mark
Your Calendar!
The APS 26th Annual Scientific Meeting will be a lively arena for interdisciplinary exchange among pain scientists and healthcare professionals. In the ever-expanding field of pain management, new trends, techniques, therapies, and diagnostic procedures become available almost daily. Knowledge of these is crucial for the practicing healthcare professional when selecting the most efficacious treatment for the individual patient. By attending and participating in the meeting, you will be able to relate presented clinical insights to questions of basic science, or to translate scientific innovations to your clinical practice.
The Pediatric Pain Forum will take place on May 2, 2007, at Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA. This 1-day forum is for scientists, clinical researchers, physicians, and other healthcare providers involved in developmental pain research or pediatric pain management. Carol Schadelbauer, Vice President and Director, Health and Science Advisory Team, Burness Communications, Bethesda, MD, is the keynote speaker. Her lecture, “Getting Pediatric Pain the Attention It Deserves,” will address how to use the media to foster improved pain management at the local, regional, and national levels. Other speakers and topics include the following: Continuum
of Pain Management in Children with Acute Pain: Prehospital, Emergency
Department, and Outpatient Family
and Cultural Perspectives on Pain Management in Sickle Cell Disease Palliative
Care for Children Living with HIV Infection The
Media Interview Understanding
the Role of Parents in Pediatric Chronic Pain Working
with Policymakers Improving
School Functioning in Children with Chronic Pain
Today Is the Last Day for Leadership Nominations Do you know someone who demonstrates leadership qualities such as vision, strategic thinking, and motivation, and is dedicated to the society and its mission? If so, the APS Nominating Committee welcomes your election nomination. Open positions include President-Elect, Treasurer, three Directors-at-Large, and the Nominating Committee (with seven open positions). Nominees must be APS regular members, who want to achieve positive outcomes for the society, its members, and those who are served by its efforts. These positions will be elected this winter and will take office at the 2007 annual meeting. Position descriptions, current lists of board and Nominations Committee members, position vacancies, and the disciplinary composition and geographic representation of the board are available in the members-only section of the APS Web site. APS has worked hard to make the nomination and voting process easy for you; your participation will make it meaningful. Please take advantage of this opportunity. Your participation is important.
Eastern
Pain Association 2006 Annual Meeting: The Eastern
Pain Association (EPA) held its 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting at
the East Side Marriot in New York, NY, September 29–30. The
conference (whose theme was “Pain Communication”) included
lectures on a variety of topics such as the delivery of pain care
in the battlefield, functional brain imaging studies, and John Bonica’s
vision of adequate pain care.
Participants
had the option of attending one of two concurrent workshops—a
clinically-based forum exploring challenging patient issues, or
a pharmaceutical roundtable. The faculty for the clinically-based
forum included Bolen, Waters, Sheryl Johnson, MD, and Terry Paylor,
RN. The group addressed topics such as establishing limits and boundaries,
communication issues, and the responsibilities essential to both
healthcare providers and patients for a successful working relationship.
The pharmaceutical roundtable is a perennial favorite at the EPA
Annual Conference. This year’s topic was “Emerging Pharmacological
and Medical Devices.” Moderator William Schmidt, MD, and his
faculty (Donald C. Manning, MD PhD; Roland E. Dolle, PhD; R. Michael
Poole, MD FACP; and Thomas T. Simopoulos, MD) provided insight into
promising new therapies for acute and chronic pain. Regional presidents and Special Interest Group chairs are encouraged to submit information about meetings and events to APS E-News Managing Editor Deborah Pinkston at dpinkston@connect2amc.com.
Volunteer Spotlight: Donald Manning, MD PhD
Manning became involved in EPA in 2001, while working full time at the University of Virginia (where he still holds a faculty appointment). He has been an APS member for approximately 20 years. His work with EPA only increased after joining Celgene because the organization has a large membership group from the pharmaceutical industry. “We are a unique pain organization because we are able to tap into the expertise of so many researchers who work at East Coast pharmaceutical companies, especially in New Jersey,” said Manning. “At our annual meeting there is a pharmaceutical roundtable in which scientists employed in the pharmaceutical industry share their expertise. It’s an excellent opportunity for academic and industry scientists to interact with each other from a purely research perspective.” Manning explained that EPA is experiencing strong membership growth, which is both a benefit and a challenge. “Since we are primarily an educational organization, it’s critical that we maintain the right level of intimacy to foster meaningful interaction and exchange of scientific information,” he said. “Our long-range planning committee is therefore developing a brand for EPA that will help communicate who we are to both the pain-care community and the general public.” In addition to the September annual meeting held in Manhattan, EPA also holds one to three Group for Research in Pain Evaluation (GRIPE) meetings a year. Although Manning thinks the group should find a new name for these events, he believes the GRIPE sessions are popular and allow clinicians to present their most difficult cases for discussion with their peers. The EPA was founded in 1974 by John J. Bonica, and predated the establishment of APS and IASP. At the time, its membership spanned from the Atlantic coast to the Rockies, but drew primarily from the New York area. “Through the years, our members and presidents could be considered a who’s who in pain-care history,” Manning said.
News Highlights from The Journal of Pain
The prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is greater in women, and the ratio of women to men treated for the disorder is 10 to 1. Despite extensive research, the pathophysiology of FMS is unknown. Prevalence of FMS in women has prompted speculation that sex hormones might be involved. In this article, researchers sought to evaluate levels of sex hormones and pain sensitivity at various phases of the menstrual cycle in healthy women and in a group diagnosed with FMS. The results of the study showed that levels of sex hormones for regularly menstruating women with FMS are comparable to pain-free women at different phases of the menstrual cycle. This suggests that higher prevalence of FMS in women is not likely to be associated with abnormal levels of sex hormones. The authors reported, however, there was some association between progesterone and ischemic pain sensitivity in general. They also noted that their findings are consistent with previous studies.
The authors examined short- and long-term biopsychosocial health and quality of life of fibromyalgia and low-back pain patients. Although diagnostics and therapy have made excellent progress in treating acute-pain disorders, improvements in the management of chronic diseases have remained modest. Many studies, however, have demonstrated that interdisciplinary pain management programs were superior to uncoordinated therapies. In this prospective cohort study, chronic-pain patients with fibromyalgia or low-back pain exhibited good responses to a standardized inpatient interdisciplinary treatment program. Pain and most of the physical and affective dimensions, together with quality of life and coping performance, improved significantly in the short-term and mid-term. Researchers concluded that structured and interdisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation covering elements of behavioral therapy and graded activity exercises are effective.
Studies have shown that traditional medical approaches to treating chronic pain have not been consistently efficacious or cost-effective. Conversely, newer comprehensive, multidisciplinary pain-care programs (CPPs) have proven to be both efficacious and cost-effective. This study examines available evidence comparing traditional and comprehensive pain-care approaches. When available, conventional medical treatments were used as the benchmark to evaluate CPPs. The authors conclude that their review clearly demonstrates that CCPs offer the most efficacious and cost-effective evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. Based on the growing number of randomized controlled trials from different clinical-research centers, there is unequivocal evidence for the effectiveness and cost benefits of CPPs. However, the authors also conclude that a major obstacle to effective CPPs is the lack of understanding by third-party payers who still refuse to cover such programs.
Little is known about how older adults cope with persistent pain. The intent of this study was to describe strategies employed by older adults to cope with chronic noncancer pain, as measured by the Chronic Pain Coping Inventory (CPCI). Two hundred residents from 43 retirement communities in the Pacific Northwest were studied. The authors reported that the most frequently used coping strategies were task persistence, activity pacing, and coping self statements. They noted that frequent use of strategies on the task-persistence scale is consistent with previous findings that many older adults try to ignore their pain and not let it interfere with activities. Exercise and rest were also found to be frequently used pain-coping strategies for the older adults evaluated in the study. The authors concluded their findings support using the CPCI for assessing pain-coping strategies of older adults in settings other than multidisciplinary pain clinics. However, they did not analyze taking pain medication as a coping strategy and recommend that pain medication measures be developed and incorporated in future studies of pain coping.
Reminder: Call for SIG Members Interested in Pain in the Elderly A group of interested APS members is organizing a special interest group (SIG) to focus on the unique aspects of the basic science, diagnosis, and clinical aspects of pain in an older population. William Schwab, MD PhD, chief of geriatrics for Ohio Permanente Medical Group, will chair the SIG. If you would like to participate in this SIG, please e-mail William.S.Schwab@kp.org or call him at 216/470-2733. Please contact Dr. Schwab again even if you have previously expressed interest in this SIG. Response to date has been limited (fewer than 10 people) and Dr. Schwab is compiling a comprehensive list of interested persons.
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call the American Pain Society at 847/375-4715 to make a credit
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Small Dreams Fund to: Looking
for a Unique Gift? |
This week APS announced a new awards program to honor the country’s
outstanding pain care programs. The Clinical Centers of Excellence
in Pain Management Awards Program seeks to honor forward-thinking
teams of healthcare professionals who are addressing the critical
needs in pain management on the local level. 
May 2–5, 2007
During
the 28th Annual John J. Bonica Luncheon, Richard Payne, MD, received
the Bonica award and delivered the lecture “What Is Compassionate
Pain Care in the 21st Century? Is the Good Samaritan an Oxymoron
in 21st-Century Health Care?” He spoke to the heart of the
EPA mission and his lecture will be published in a future issue
of the Clinical Journal of Pain.
Donald
Manning, MD PhD, EPA President, spoke with APS E-News after
the successful completion of the EPA Annual Meeting. He is the vice
president of clinical research and development for Celgene Corporation,
which is an immunology-based pharmaceutical company focused on developing
cancer therapeutics.
The
following highlights summarize selected articles from the November
2006 issue (volume 7, number 11).
Make
a donation to the APS Dream No Small Dreams Fund before the end
of the year. Your gift may be tax deductible; please consult your
tax advisor. Thank you for your support!