Provincial Pain Management Strategy aims to stop the pain

Today at the age of 18, because of migraine-like headaches, Megan is struggling to complete the courses she needs to finish high school. She also hasn’t been able to do other things normal teenagers do such as learn to drive a car, finish high school, have a part-time job, develop relationships or make long-term plans for her future.

“Chronic pain is a disease,” says anaesthesiologist Dr. Michael Negraeff, co-chair of the Provincial Pain Management Strategy. “It’s a silent epidemic that affects a person’s work life, relationships and physical and emotional health.”

Financially, the burden of chronic pain is astronomic. According to the Access Economics for MBF Foundation, the annual cost of chronic pain, including medical expenses, lost tax revenue, disability payments and lost productivity is estimated to be more $50.5 billion. This breaks out to $1.6 billion for Vancouver Coastal Health and $6.2 billion for British Columbia. It’s said to cost society more than cancer, heart disease and HIV combined.

The human cost is higher. For most people, chronic pain impacts every part of their lives. They often struggle with other health issues, many of which are made worse as a result of pain. For example, if a person has diabetes and chronic pain, they’re going find it difficult to exercise regularly.

Vancouver Coastal Health is joining the other health authorities in BC to create and implement the Provincial Pain Management Strategy, a province-wide network to develop a strategy for better pain management.

The Provincial Pain Management Strategy aims to:

• Establish a culture in which patients, their families and caregivers, providers, health care administrators and government policy makers understand the impact of pain and the importance of effective assessment and management.
• Promote and integrate evidence-based care through program evaluation and research.
• Promote adequate education and support for patients, their families and caregivers, providers, health care administrators and government policy makers.

Goal of the strategy
The goal of the Provincial Pain Management Strategy is to ensure that everyone, from birth to end of life who has any type of chronic, acute and palliative pain, will received integrated, seamless and quality pain services in all care settings in the province.