New report on treatment of pain by the Institute of Medicine

Relieving Pain in America is a new report by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine. The introduction to the report describes the report as follows:

Relieving Pain in America assesses the state of the science regarding pain research, care, and education and offers a blueprint for developing a population-level strategy to increase awareness about pain and its treatments. The report asserts that the National Center for Health Statistics, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and other government agencies, and private organizations should accelerate the collection of data on pain incidence, prevalence, and treatments. Additionally, training programs for dentists, nurses, physicians, psychologists, and other health professionals should include pain education in their curricula and promote interdisciplinary learning.

Successful treatment, management, and prevention of pain, requires an integrated approach that responds to all the factors that influence pain. Government agencies, healthcare providers, healthcare professional associations, educators, patient advocacy groups, and public and private funders of health care must collaborate to address the issue of pain in America.

Teresa Collett

Teresa Stanton Collett is a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she teaches bioethics, property law, and constitutional law. A nationally prominent speaker and scholar, she is active in attempts to rebuild the Culture of Life and protect the institutions of marriage and family. She often represents groups of state legislators, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association in appellate case related to medical-legal matters. She represented the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota before the U.S. Supreme Court as amici curiae regarding the effectiveness of those states’ parental involvement laws. She has served as special attorney general for Oklahoma and Kansas related to legislation designed to protect the well-being of minors and unborn children. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittees on the Constitution, as well as numerous legislative committees in the states.