Dr. Shari Ling, CMS with Amy Goldstein, AACIPM
On February 21st and 22nd, the NIH HEAL Initiative brought together HEAL funded researchers, federal officials, people with lived experience, and other stakeholders to share research findings, explore trends and shared interests, and identify opportunities to advance the goals of the initiative. Thank you to Isabel Roth, DrPH, MS, for inviting AACIPM’s Director, Amy Goldstein, to attend as a Community Advisory Board member for the OPTIMUM study looking at mindfulness for chronic low back pain in primary care. The meeting included panels, scientific symposia, discussion groups, networking, and poster sessions for in-person and virtual attendees.
After the meeting, Amy Goldstein said:
“This was my first NIH HEAL meeting. Besides being inspiring and productive, it also felt very important to foster deeper dot-connecting with various leaders who participate in aspects of person-centered, evidence-based pain management but do not have the space to share and collaborate. Keeping individuals with pain at the center of efforts is not easy. Patient abandonment, suicide rates and overdoses are at an all time high (in parallel with the decrease in opioid prescribing), part of the devastating unintended consequences when we try to address a complex public health challenge. AACIPM stakeholders seek tangible opportunities to address real-world implementation and dissemination strategies, and continue connecting more dots!”
