Consensus forms around need for more access and coordination for multi-modal pain care, and better training for providers to provide that care
The pendulum of opioid prescribing for pain has swung sharply in the last decade, as the epidemic of opioid overuse, addiction and overdose led policymakers and health care providers to ratchet back on the prescriptions patients receive.
But for about 5 million Americans who have taken prescription opioids for years to address their chronic pain, that pendulum swing has led to trouble getting refills, finding new providers when their former ones retire or relocate, or getting access to multimodal pain care that goes beyond pills.