AMA calls pain task force recommendations a road map for future policy

CHICAGO — The AMA strongly backs the comprehensive, common-sense proposals the Interagency Pain Task Force discussed today, sending a clear signal to the physician community that policy makers understand the treatment required for patients in pain.

The recommendations, to be adopted later today, balance the need to effectively manage patients’ pain while also advancing policies to end the epidemic of opioid-related deaths.

“These recommendations are a lifeline to pain patients who have been caught in the middle of policy efforts that have produced harmful unintended consequences,” said AMA President-Elect Patrice A. Harris, M.D., chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force. “This is a road map to help physicians and policy makers take sustainable steps to end the epidemic and improve pain care.”