Part of the struggle in increasing awareness about pain as a serious public health issue is the stigma pain has – some view it as a character flaw or weakness and many view the medications available to treat it as dangerous. The National Pain Foundation is committed to educating the public about safely taking medications, preventing prescription pain medication abuse and improving access to care. Read about these issues in:
Safe medication use and storage helps prevent injury and death and helps secure access to important treatment options in the future.
New Web Site Offers Information about
Postherpetic Neuralgia
The National Pain Foundation is partnering with the
Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and the
National Council on Aging (NCOA) in the
Patchwork of Hope Network campaign to raise
awareness about posterherpetic neuralgia, a painful and
often debilitating condition that affects older adults.
Part of the campaign is the re-launch of
AfterShingles.com, an online resource offering
tools and information to help educate consumers about
shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), its impact on
people's lives and steps to take to help manage the
conditions.
Read more
about the newly improved web site.
Coalition Offers Guidance on Preventing Misuse
and Abuse of Pain Medications; Calls for Treating
Chronic Pain as a Disease
Representatives from the National Pain Foundation, along
with those from the American Academy of Pain Medicine,
the American Pain Society and other leading specialists
met to address the growing problem of misuse and abuse
of pain medications, and to strengthen support for
recognizing chronic pain as a distinct disease state —
an important step toward improving the diagnosis and
treatment of patients with pain.
Read more about
the coalition's findings and recommendations.
10 Myths and Facts about Pain
There are so many misconceptions about pain.
Share this list of myths and
facts to help you and those around you better understand the truth about
living with chronic pain.
Connect. Learn. Live.
Visit the
National Pain Foundation's new Facebook page to meet new people and open
new doors. Also, watch inspirational stories on YouTube and add your own. Visit
www.YouTube.com/NationalPain today.
State-by-State Guide to Getting the Medication You Need
The NPF is excited to announce a new addition to our web site:
downloadable PDF documents explaining the details of every state’s medication insurance rights policies. Each document is set up in a question and answer format to explain types of coverage, brand name versus generic medications, drug lists, changing or “switching” medications on the list, costs, limitations/prior approval and appeals. The pieces also include important contact information and sample letters to customize and use when either protesting a medication being changed on or switched from an approved list
or appealing a coverage decision regarding a specific medication.
Pain Patient Bill of Rights
As a pain patient, you have several rights regarding your treatment. It is important that you familiarize yourself with these rights so that you can best advocate for the care you need. If you are a caregiver, it is also important that you read and understand these points so that you can ensure your loved one is receiving the best, most respectful and most effective care possible from his or her medical doctors. Please read the
Pain Patient Bill of Rights. If you have had trouble in the past speaking up for yourself with your health care providers, consider printing it out and bringing it with you to your next appointment.
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