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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, FONTANA, BREWSTER, RAFFERTY, KASUNIC, KITCHEN, BOSCOLA AND FERLO, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 |
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| A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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1 | Directing the Legislative and Budget Finance Committee to create |
2 | a Pain Task Force and a Pain Task Force Advisory Committee to |
3 | promote professional and public education and awareness and |
4 | to improve the quality of care for the citizens of this |
5 | Commonwealth who are suffering from pain. |
6 | WHEREAS, Pain can be classified as follows: |
7 | (1) acute pain, such as the pain following injury, acute |
8 | medical illness or surgery; |
9 | (2) chronic pain, such as chronic low back pain, |
10 | fibromyalgia, headache or chronic illness, such as lupus or |
11 | multiple sclerosis; |
12 | (3) cancer-related pain, including pain associated with |
13 | cancer and its treatment; |
14 | (4) pain in patients with life-limiting illness; |
15 | and |
16 | WHEREAS, Unrelieved acute pain increases suffering, can slow |
17 | recovery and is associated with an increased risk of |
18 | complications including death; and |
19 | WHEREAS, Unrelieved acute pain is common, with up to 40% of |
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1 | postoperative patients reporting inadequate pain relief; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Fifteen to 25% of community-based adults suffer from |
3 | chronic pain at any given time, a figure that increases to 50% |
4 | in adults over 65 years of age; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Chronic pain is associated with significant |
6 | suffering, including compromise of physical and psychosocial |
7 | functioning, such as depression and anxiety; and |
8 | WHEREAS, Chronic pain leads to lost or compromised workdays |
9 | that equate to an estimated $50 billion to $70 billion in lost |
10 | workdays in the United States per year; and |
11 | WHEREAS, Up to 70% of people with cancer suffer from pain |
12 | caused by their disease or its treatment; and |
13 | WHEREAS, People with advanced cancer describe their pain as |
14 | moderate to severe 40% to 50% of the time and very severe 25% to |
15 | 30% of the time; and |
16 | WHEREAS, There are now several published clinical practice |
17 | guidelines regarding the diagnosis and treatment of acute, |
18 | chronic, cancer-related pain and pain associated with life- |
19 | limiting illness, and the United States Congress declared |
20 | 2001-2010 as the "Decade of Pain Control and Research"; and |
21 | WHEREAS, In spite of the availability of published treatment |
22 | guidelines, many citizens of this Commonwealth continue to |
23 | suffer from poorly controlled pain due to a variety of reasons; |
24 | therefore, be it |
25 | RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the |
26 | General Assembly direct the Legislative and Budget Finance |
27 | Committee to create a Pain Task Force consisting of two members |
28 | appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, two |
29 | members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, two |
30 | members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives |
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1 | and two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of |
2 | Representatives; and be it further |
3 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force create a Pain Task Force |
4 | Advisory Committee to assist in accomplishing each of its |
5 | responsibilities. The Pain Task Force Advisory Committee shall |
6 | consist of 25 members who are individuals with knowledge and |
7 | expertise regarding pain research, prevention, treatment, |
8 | educational programs and consumer needs, to guide program |
9 | development; and be it further |
10 | RESOLVED, That the committee be composed of one |
11 | representative from and designated by the following: |
12 | (1) Department of Health. |
13 | (2) Office of Attorney General. |
14 | (3) Pennsylvania Medical Society. |
15 | (4) Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians. |
16 | (5) American College of Physicians. |
17 | (6) Pennsylvania Society for Oncology and Hematology. |
18 | (7) Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners. |
19 | (8) Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. |
20 | (9) American Society for Pain Management Nursing. |
21 | (10) Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association. |
22 | (11) Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society. |
23 | (12) American Cancer Society. |
24 | (13) Pennsylvania Cancer Pain Initiative. |
25 | (14) Arthritis Foundation. |
26 | (15) Lupus Foundation of Pennsylvania. |
27 | (16) National Multiple Sclerosis Society. |
28 | (17) American Pain Society. |
29 | (18) American Pain Foundation. |
30 | (19) Pennsylvania Homecare Association. |
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1 | (20) Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association and the |
2 | Chiropractic Fellowship of Pennsylvania. |
3 | (21) Association for Professional Acupuncture. |
4 | (22) Pennsylvania Pain Coalition. |
5 | (23) The Pennsylvania rehabilitation industry; |
6 | and be it further |
7 | RESOLVED, That two members of the committee be chosen by the |
8 | coordinated designation of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical |
9 | industries; and be it further |
10 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force present to the General |
11 | Assembly a report evaluating the barriers to good pain care in |
12 | this Commonwealth, making suggestions for actions to improve |
13 | pain care within this Commonwealth; and be it further |
14 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force study the feasibility of |
15 | developing and implementing a comprehensive Statewide public |
16 | education program on pain management to: |
17 | (1) promote public awareness regarding proper pain |
18 | management; |
19 | (2) promote understanding of the importance of early |
20 | diagnosis and proper treatment and management; |
21 | (3) improve the delivery of appropriate information, |
22 | programs, services and access to the most effective |
23 | treatments for pain; and |
24 | (4) encourage research into the nature, cause and |
25 | treatment of pain; |
26 | and be it further |
27 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force, in accomplishing its |
28 | missions, take into account guidelines that have been |
29 | promulgated by nationally recognized organizations that deal |
30 | with pain; and be it further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force recommend an appropriate |
2 | means of disseminating information to the professional community |
3 | and the general public; and be it further |
4 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force recommend sources of funds |
5 | to carry out its recommendations; and be it further |
6 | RESOLVED, That the Pain Task Force report its findings |
7 | directly to the General Assembly no later than one year after |
8 | the adoption of this resolution. |
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