Imagine being constantly in pain and not being able to identify the cause of the pain or to manage its symptoms. How would this affect your ability to earn living? To maintain social relationships? To stay fit?
This is the reality for the more than 100 million adults in the United States living with chronic pain — the leading cause of disability among adults in this country. Unlike acute pain, there is no cure for chronic pain and treatment can be complex, especially because many individuals who suffer from chronic pain also suffer from other chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression.
Treatment for chronic pain is often challenging and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for people with pain. Effective chronic pain care requires access to a wide range of treatment options, including medical, behavioral health and complementary treatments. Navigating the health care system is especially difficult given the pain that these patients are experiencing. As such, care coordination is essential for the management of chronic pain.
The goal of coordinated care is to make sure that patients get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and medical errors. Often times, a patient’s primary care physician will serve as the “care coordinator,” but others can also serve in this role. The key is that the coordination is deliberate and that all people involved in the care of the patient be an active part of the team. Medicare Advantage is one program that emphasizes the importance of care coordination, allowing patients to focus on preventative care and managing their pain, rather than navigating the often-confusing healthcare system. Unfortunately, many people with chronic pain do not have a designated care coordinator. Thus, it is imperative that people with chronic pain have access to resources to become empowered to self-manage and coordinate their own care, especially in the absence of a formal care coordinator.
The month of September is Pain Awareness Month. To promote awareness and advocate for coordinated care, two members of the Medicare Advantage Care Coordination Task Force who live with chronic pain — Penney Cowan, Founder and CEO of American Chronic Pain Association, and Paul Gileno, Founder and President of U.S. Pain Foundation — have shared their insights on what makes chronic pain so complex, why care coordination is essential to manage chronic pain, the importance of an empowered patient, and what resources are available to those with chronic pain. They also explore what still needs to be done to improve care for those with chronic pain.
Please click here to read this important issue brief, “Chronic Pain and Care Coordination: A Team Effort.” You can follow the Task Force via the Coalition for Medicare Choices Twitter feed and blog.