Patient-centered research can improve chronic pain care and address opioid abuse

Going for the Brass RingLast year, Joe Selby, MD, executive director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), spoke to members of the NIH Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (PCORI) to inform those of us on the committee about PCORI’s intentions to do more funding focused on chronic pain research. Dr. Selby said their interests were possibly in low back pain, migraine, musculoskeletal pain, and/or opioid abuse. I was elated. Then about a month ago (May 14, 2015), Dr. Selby posted a blog on the PCORI website titled, “Patient-Centered Research Can Improve Chronic Pain Care and Address Opioid Abuse.”  I hope with all my heart that he is right; research or policy that can do both of these things is like grabbing the brass ring while on a merry-go-round. It is certainly a worthy goal but, to many, seems all but impossible. If anybody can do this, however, PCORI may have the best chance. Established by the Patient Protection/Affordable Care Act in 2010, PCORI’s mission is to “examine the relative health outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and appropriateness of different medical treatments” – particularly complex problems that threaten the health and well-being of all Americans. Chronic pain certainly meets that criterion.In Dr. Selby’s blog, he said, “Since 2012, PCORI has built a sizeable portfolio of studies on chronic pain, two of which specifically address opioid treatment.” He went...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs