Conference

We are honored to collaborate with Andrew Weil Fellowship program to present to their fellowship alumni about engaging in policy and advocacy. You can view more information about this meeting and agenda here.

Session Background:

This session will provide practitioners an understanding of the current coverage landscape, policy gaps that must be addressed if care delivery is to improve, and the ethical obligation that healthcare providers have to participate in the formation of healthcare policy. Practitioners will learn about the types of policies and policymakers that affect access to integrative care, the moral and ethical imperative for health care providers to participate in the creation of health care policy, and options for engaging in advocacy efforts related to expanding access to guideline-concordant integrative care.

Slide Deck

Resources

Legislative Process

Regulatory Process

References and Resources

Background, Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Mgmt

AACIPM home page
Link to Andrew Weil presentation from 1/16/23
Why we need AACIPM
The CIPM Toolbox
Relevance of pain policy

Why is Advocacy important

Ethical position statement example (CMSS) Council of Medical Specialty Societies
National Pain Advocacy Center
Physician Advocacy: What is it and how do we do it

Challenges

Misperceptions & Stigma
- People with pain often face both hidden and obvious stigma from family, friends, coworkers, and the health care system.
- Racial and ethnic stereotyping by physicians can affect the way pain is assessed and managed. Pain assessment is subjective, and the way it’s assessed can interfere with how it is treated.
- Pain can affect anyone
- Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites
- Intersection of pain, SUD and mental health
Lack of Education and Awareness
- National Pain Strategy Comprehensive Population Health-Level Strategy for Pain.
- Reference Robert Bonakdar, MD slides from a panel presentation at Academic Consortium of Integrative Medicine
- HHS Pain Management Best Practices Task Force Report, 2019
- Becker WC, Dorflinger L, Edmond SN, Islam L, Heapy AA, Fraenkel L. Barriers and facilitators to use of non-pharmacological treatments in chronic pain. BMC Family Practice. 2017;18(1). doi:10.1186/s12875-017-0608-2
- Gadde U, Matthew P, Kumar R, Aggarwal R, Piazza MD, Lamba S. Implementing an Interactive Introduction to Complementary Medicine for Chronic Pain Management Into the Medical School Curriculum. MedEdPORTAL. 2020 Dec 29;16:11056. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11056. PMID: 33409356; PMCID: PMC7780745
Business Case Data Disagreement
Workforce Supply & Demand
- In addition to an overall provider shortage that is only worsening, there is an extreme shortage of an array of licensed healthcare providers that effectively represent BIPOC communities. Further, there is inadequate training and interprofessional knowledge that keeps healthcare providers from understanding what it means to provide a multimodal, multidisciplinary approach to pain care.
- HRSA estimates for supply and demand
- HRSA U.S. health care workforce data tools
- Optum Healthcare Provider Data
Misaligned Financial Incentives