Staggering Costs of Chronic Pain

Read the Forbes Article, "More than 100 Million Suffer Lasting Pain", published June 29, 2011.

Here's an excerpt:

WASHINGTON — Nearly a third of Americans experience long-lasting pain – the kind that lingers for weeks to months – and too often feel stigma rather than relief from a health care system poorly prepared to treat them, the Institute of Medicine said Wednesday.

The staggering tab: Chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity, the report found. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the No. 1 killer….

Click here to link to a Medscape article, "Institute of Medicine Issues Blueprint for Pain in America". Here's a short excerpt…the concluding paragraphs:

"Healthcare providers, insurers, and the public need to understand that although pain is universal, it is experienced uniquely by each person and care — which often requires a combination of therapies and coping techniques — must be tailored. Pain is more than a physical symptom and is not always resolved by curing the underlying condition. Persistent pain can cause changes in the nervous system and become a distinct chronic disease."

And here at the Institute of Medicine, you can read the Pain Blueprint Summary or pay to download the full report by the Institute of Medicine. Please note the highlighted text – Open Focus provides an ideal "self-help strategy to prevent, cope with, and reduce pain." [Editor's note: we are seeking medical researchers interested in incorporating Open Focus practice into research studies. ]

"To improve patient and public understanding of pain, federal agencies and other stakeholders should redesign education programs. They should aim to foster an understanding among patients, the public, and healthcare providers that there are complex biological and psychosocial aspects to pain, and they should develop materials about the nature of pain; ways to use self-help strategies to prevent, cope with, and reduce pain; and available treatments for pain. The materials should be specifically targeted to patients, the public, and healthcare providers."