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LIFEline Note Kansas Receives High Marks for State Pain Policies But Much Work Remains to be Done Special Note to LIFE Project Partners: The LIFE Project is so very grateful for the leadership you offer to improve pain management for all Kansans. The report below is a slightly modified press release, from the LIFE Project, on the report released today by the Pain and Policies Study Group of the University of Wisconsin. LIFE Project Partners, leading in the efforts to improve pain management and end-of-life care, will want to note a new report released by the University of Wisconsin’s Pain and Policy Studies Group, showing that Kansas public policy related to pain management is among the very best in the nation. “This report card confirms what we have seen in action; namely, that Kansas has some of the nation’s most progressive professional licensing boards in the area of pain management”, said Robert Twillman, Ph.D., President of the Kansas Pain Initiative, Chair of the Advisory Board of the American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives and Co-Chair of the LIFE Project’s Pain Management Task Group. “When I’ve talked about these policies in other states”, Twillman added, “the feedback I get is that people in those states wish their public officials were as supportive of good patient care”. The report, released Tuesday, assigns a letter grade to each state, based on the content of that state’s laws, regulations, and licensing board guidelines. While no state received a grade of “A”, Kansas and three other states received grades of “B+”. Kansas also was one of 14 states that improved its pain policies since the most recent report was issued in March 2000. Cited as the primary reason for an improved grade in Kansas was the recently adopted Joint Policy Statement of the Boards of Healing Arts, Nursing and Pharmacy on the use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain. This policy statement, as well as separate policy statements passed by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts and Kansas State Board of Nursing in 1998 and 2001, respectively, was the first of its kind to be adopted by any licensing board in the United States. However, despite the good news that Kansas policies do not impede good pain management, the news for people with pain may not be quite as encouraging. “We are very thankful that our state legislators and regulators are so supportive of good pain management. Still, we still have a long way to go to achieve good pain management for all Kansans”, said Donna Bales, President/CEO of the Kansas LIFE Project -- Living Initiatives for End-of-Life Care. “We know from scientific studies that nearly half of all nursing home residents in Kansas suffer significant pain, as many as 25% of them suffering pain every day, whether from cancer or non-cancer causes. And we also know that as many as 25% of those with pain every day do not receive even the most basic pain medicine, such as acetaminophen (TylenolŪ),” Bales added. She went on to say that surveys of Kansans reveal that as many as 86% of patients who died experienced moderate to excruciating pain in the last three months of their lives, despite the fact that studies indicate that 90% of them could have achieved good pain management with relative simple medical treatments. “Clearly, there is a disconnect between what is encouraged by our public policies and what is actually practiced in the treatment of patients”, commented Twillman. These findings highlight the need for efforts such as one currently underway by the LIFE Project. “Every Kansan Should Expect Good Pain Management” is a broad effort to educate healthcare providers, patients, and the general public about what can be achieved and what should be expected with respect to pain management. “We will be taking this program to the 28 communities across the state where we have LIFE Project Caring Community Coalitions”, said Bales. “We have already begun this effort in a number of communities, as a way of telling everyone involved that it is not necessary to live with uncontrolled pain. Only when consumers begin to expect good pain management, and to ask for it, will healthcare providers move this important issue to the top of their priority lists and begin to exercise the skills needed to provide good pain management to every patient”. For more information on events scheduled in nearby communities, contact the LIFE Project at (316) 263-6380, or toll free at (888) 202-LIFE (5433). For more information about pain-specific issues, contact the Pain Management Hotline at 913-588-3692. The LIFE Project also maintains a website, with this and much more information, located at www.lifeproject.org. Key contacts for more information include the following: Donna Bales Robert Twillman, PhD, |
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