Survey: Government regulation impacts most pain care practices

Nine out of 10 pain care professionals surveyed during PAINWeek 2007 said government regulations have had an impact on their practices. Nearly half of the 200 healthcare professionals rated the impact as "high" or "significant," while 180 rated the impact "low." The survey results come amid growing controversy surrounding the use of opioids and doctors' willingness to prescribe them. "What is at stake here is the well-being of tens of millions of Americans who suffer with pain," explained American Society of Pain Educators executive director B. Eliot Cole, M.D., MPA. Besides government regulation, 69% of PAINWeek delegates said putting oversight of medical decisions in the hands of medical professionals as opposed to law enforcement is most important to their ability to manage their patients' pain. And 43% of those surveyed said the lack of adequate pain management education during their professional training has had a high impact on their ability to provide appropriate pain management to patients.

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