Spotlight: Matthew Taylor

Yoga Therapy’s Potential for Filling Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management (CIPM) Gaps in Underserved/Remote Locations

An interview with Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT

“Getting the word out that yoga therapy has both practices and the evidence that the profession can be an important player in the integrative response is what drives my work.”

Dr. Taylor is an expert who has been involved in AACIPM’s efforts for many years.  He brings a unique leadership and entrepreneurial background involving research, standards, physical therapy, yoga therapy, technology and community activism.  This is a great read for anyone interested in what is the cutting edge in yoga therapy as it relates to comprehensive integrative pain management.

Timely HHS Announcements

CDC: New Opioid Workgroup and Timely Opportunity to be Interviewed as a Stakeholder

On July 22, CDC released a list of the members of their new Opioid Workgroup and plans to complete any guideline updates and workgroup deliverables at the end of 2021. Congratulations to AACIPM’s advisory committee members, Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, and Kate Nicholson, JD, who were selected to serve on this committee. See the full member roster.

As part of this effort, CDC will be holding approximately 100 individual conversations with stakeholders over the phone or through an internet-enabled virtual platform. Persons interested in participating should contact CDC no later than 5:00pm EDT August 21, 2020. View the full announcement with details on electronic and written submissions here.

Congress Includes Appropriations Language for HHS Task Force Report and more

Thanks to tireless efforts from numerous advocates including many of you and leaders from US Pain Foundation, Integrative Health Policy Consortium and beyond, Congress has included language in the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Committee Report accompanying the FY 2021 Budget Bill.

At the link to the report from the House Appropriations Committee, you will find on pages 71 and 204 next to “Chronic Pain—” the language urging 1) dissemination of the HHS Pain Management Best Practices Report, 2) coordination with DoD/VHA to launch a public awareness campaign to educate Americans about acute and chronic pain and the evidence based non-opioid treatment options that are available, and 3) CDC to collect needed data about the prevalence of pain and publish it annually.

As mentioned above, you can find more details from U.S. Pain Foundation about their recent Virtual Pain Advocacy Day and from Integrative Health Policy Consortium about their recent virtual congressional briefing, “The Pain-Demic: Fallout from COVID-19 Solutions for Our Worsening Opioid Crisis and the Rising Impact of HealthCare Disparities” on July 24th that was co-hosted by Co-Chairs of the Congressional Integrative Health and Wellness Caucus, Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN).

AMA’s Story about WVU Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management in Action

You may have seen this excellent panel discussion during AACIPM’s May Symposium with Dr. Clay Marsh, Dr. Rick Vaglienti, and Julianne Speeney about the transformation at West Virginia University Medicine Center for Integrative Pain Management to approach pain in a comprehensive integrative way.  Click “Read the Article” found on the American Medical Association’s microsite, End the Epidemic. 

“While pain care is often fragmented for the patient due to numerous barriers and inconsistent care protocols, we strive to achieve best practices and treat the whole person,” said Rick Vaglienti, MD.  “We are fortunate to have a team of many health care professionals that work together under one roof to treat pain of all types.” he added. 

Click “Explore the Series” below for more stories about innovation to help patients with chronic pain. If you have a story to share, please send to Amy Goldstein, AACIPM Director.

AACIPM Connecting the Dots with NCCIH

AACIPM remains focused on connecting the dots across our stakeholders’ work, which is a unique vantage point. To that end, AACIPM’s Advisory Committee approved this public comment submitted to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) through their recent RFI process (details of which are here). We are also grateful to Mark Pitcher, PhD, Director of Health Sciences Inter-Professional Research, University of Bridgeport, for his involvement. We look forward to seeing NCCIH’s draft strategic plan this Fall. 

New Advisory Committee Member: Wendy Coduti

AACIPM is excited to welcome Wendy Coduti, PhD, CRC as the newest member of our Advisory Committee. We asked:
 

What made you interested in becoming involved with AACIPM?

Before entering academia I worked in the field of workers’ compensation, long term disability and human resources. I saw many different ways that pain manifests as reflected by the various clients on my caseload over the years, and the stigma often associated with chronic pain. Through my work now as a faculty member in the rehabilitation and human services program at Penn State University,…

AACIPM Symposium Materials Remain a Continuing Resource

Click below to view short vignettes from a dozen diverse leaders, answering how we can work together to achieve person-centered pain management.

Also access to all the symposium materials and session recordings will remain available at the button below and on AACIPM’s website.  Feel free to share with others looking for helpful information about comprehensive integrative pain management.

More resources coming soon for September Pain Awareness Month.

September Pain Awareness Month

Excellent Symposium Feedback and More Upcoming Educational Resources

We were so pleased to read your positive feedback after our Symposium, Innovation & Progress in Person-Centered Pain Management. The AACIPM team is currently in the process of finalizing plans for September educational opportunities that will continue this important conversation.  Look for more specific details about these offerings in the coming weeks. Some highlights from the feedback you shared:

Unique Individuals Registered for the Symposium: 918 people

Motivation After Participation:

• 72% of participants who completed the survey reported they are motivated to act or change something they are doing
• 97% reported they would participate in another online program offered by AACIPM.

Opinions Changed After Participation:

• 45% opinions changed – The value of person-centered, comprehensive integrative pain management
• 78% opinions changed – The status of innovation and progress in person-centered pain management
• 61% opinions changed – The current body of evidence recommending complementary and integrative treatments for pain management

AACIPM will be collating and promoting important resources during the month of September for people with pain, healthcare providers, purchasers, payers, and policy makers.

If you have resources to share, please send to info@painmanagementalliance.org.

Message from the Director

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to unplug and escape with my family to enjoy the surprisingly overwhelming beauty in South Dakota. While camping in the Badlands National Park, and gazing at the night sky filled with endless stars and constellations, I was reminded in a more visceral way of how small we are in this big world. And also of how important each of our work is in relation to everything else.

In this newsletter, there are important resources and successes that have come to be because of the combination of efforts from so many stakeholders, many who do not yet know one another. I’d like to think of our continued efforts to advance person-centered pain management as lighting up the sky with new stars so that no matter where you are, you can look up and know we’re in this together and our work really does make a difference.

Onward and Upward!
Amy

Relevant Reading

• Abbott Receives FDA Approval for iOS-Compatible App Allowing People Living With Chronic Pain and Movement Disorders to Personalize Therapy Via Their Mobile Device, Yahoo! Finance, July 23
• Life After PPP: A Small Physical-Therapy Business Goes It Alone, WSJ Video, July 22
• Good Attitude Improves Effectiveness of Yoga and Physical Therapy, Pain News Network, July 20
• Proven Ways to Deal with Chronic Pain Without Using Opioids, CBN News, July 15
• Have We Been Thinking About Pain All Wrong?, Outside, July 14
• AppliedVR testing the use of at-home virtual reality therapy for chronic pain, Fierce Healthcare, July 14
• Chronic Pain, Self-Compassion, and Psychological Flexibility, Psychology Today, July 12
• First Scientific Study Using Virtual Reality to Treat Chronic Pain at Home Finds AppliedVR Platform Feasible, Scalable and Effective, Business Wire, July 9
• Adding to the scholarship: Yoga therapy in integrative pain care, YogaTherapy.Health, July 2

Resources

• Anesth Analg – Emergence From the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Care of Chronic Pain: Guidance for the Interventionalist
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – Effective Health Care Program
• American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) – Pain Treatment Guidelines
• Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) – Pain Management Toolkit