Leveraging the data :
We envision a variety of ways to leverage this data to disrupt the existing ecosystem and potentially begin to reverse the epidemic . The “ pain-pain response ” scenario is a system where inputs in one area will impact all areas . As a result , all players ( patients , providers , payers , administrators and employers ) across the system have a role to play in solving this problem . Efforts in any one area will produce change ; efforts in all areas will exponentially impact the overall problem in a much more significant manner .
Need Strategy
Patients Attend to lifestyle issues .
Education , accountability , incentives .
Providers
Get beyond current thinking , employ current guidelines and recommendations , ‘ beyond the pill ’ approaches considered frontline .
Increased inter-professional collaboration , shift pain care where appropriate to non-pharma , hands-on care providers .
Payers Expand value-based program designs .
Focus on overall costs versus per visit or number of visits , take a less episode-oriented approach .
Administrators
Fund and provide access to nonpharmacologic approaches , providers follow practice guidelines .
Drive PCPs to greater collaboration , incentivize behaviors desired and consistent with goals .
Employers
Demand strategies to address pain in ways other than prescription drugs , require conservative hands-on-care first .
Attend to outcomes of programs rather than PM / PM costs in isolation .
Hearing the Unmet Needs of Patients Suffering Chronic Pain | TCLonline . today | 17