About AMA Pain Care Task Force
In August of 2018, the AMA convened the Pain Care Task Force, made up of representatives from 20 Federation member associations. The goal of the task force is to identify a set of priorities for improving pain care that are actionable and that will potentially provide opportunities for collaborative action. This group of clinicians and experts is working toward improvements in pain care by:
- Exploring and making recommendations on augmenting medical education to help patients with evidence-based treatment options
- Discussing strategies designed to prevent or mitigate acute pain and explore new research strategies to help prevent the development of chronic pain.
- Involving primary care as well as multiple medical and surgical specialties that provide pain care.
- Explore the question of neuropathic pain as a possible distinct disease state
Principles of Evidence Based and Evidence Informed Pain Care for Physicians
Treatment of pain ranges from simple and straightforward regimens for short term acute pain to long-term multimodal management of chronic and sometimes complex pain conditions. Although clinical practice guidelines will differ depending on the specific condition, practice setting and pain presentation, the AMA Pain Care Task Force has identified ten Principles of Care that all physicians can adopt.
Pain-related Education
The AMA Ed Hub™ Opioid and Pain Management Course (44.25 Credits)
Explore guidelines, research, and treatments every prescriber should know including post-procedure pain management, non-opioid pain alternatives, and substance use disorder treatment.
The eLearning series “Practical Guidance for Pain Management” is also available on the AMA Ed Hub™. This series offers physicians and the broader care team access to educational content in a variety of topics across six modules:
- Understanding pain and conducting a pain assessment
- Treating common pain conditions
- Using opioids safely
- Using non-opioid medications
- Using non-pharmacologic treatment modalities
- Treating Older Adults
The modules are designed to be standalone, or can build into a curriculum, resulting in 9 AMA PRA category 1 credits. Based on positive physician feedback we’d received on a similar curriculum, we intentionally designed this series without audio narration (as many healthcare providers work in settings where audio playback is neither not practical or available), so the learner does not require speakers or headphones.
Barriers to Providing Evidence-Informed Pain Care to our Patients
Read article published in AMA Journal of Ethics, authored by AMA Pain Care Task Force.
Key Terms in Pain Care
The AMA Pain Care Task Force developed a glossary of terms and definitions for commonly used language concerning the treatment of patients with pain.