Announcements
Increasing patient access to pain medicines around the world:
A framework to improve national policies that govern drug distribution
“The Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) recently completed a week-long training program for its 2008 class of International Pain Policy Fellows. The Fellows, selected by a competitive application process, came from 7 countries with very limited access to opioid pain medicines
(http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/internat/IPPF/2008/08monograph.pdf),
including Armenia, Georgia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya, Moldova, and Nepal.
The Fellows were accompanied by a governmental representative from their Ministry of Health. Together they trained with the PPSG and other international experts in Madison, Wisconsin, USA during the week of 16-20 June 2008. The IPPF curriculum was based on the new PPSG internet course http://tinyurl.com/64dtmg and consisted of lectures and discussion with international experts in the field of drug regulation, pain management and palliative care. The Fellows developed action plans to improve opioid availability and access that they will implement during the next two years. The PPSG will provide ongoing technical assistance.
Wisconsin's Governor Jim Doyle issued a proclamation http://tinyurl.com/6zrslm commending the PPSG and the Fellows. The local NBC affiliate broadcasted a live interview about inadequate access to pain medicines with the director of the PPSG’s international program and two fellows, physicians from Guatemala and Nepal. More information about the IPPF is available at
http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/internat/IPPF/index.htm.
Funding for the 2008 International Pain Policy Fellowship is provided by the Open Society Institute’s (OSI) International Palliative Care Initiative.”
In the Face of Pain® Online Advocacy Toolkit
“Dear Ms. DeLima:
We are excited to update you about the new In the Face of Pain ® Online Advocacy Toolkit, a free interactive resource for the pain advocacy community which can be accessed at www.inthefaceofpain.com. Your contribution to this resource inspires us and will undoubtedly move pain advocates who experience this site.
The comprehensive Toolkit provides pain-specific advocacy information and resources covering topics related to legislative, media, community and professional organizations, as well as advocacy through research and access to care. The website also provides advocates with the ability to research hundreds of current pain-related statistics based on condition, population or issue. A unique feature of the In the Face of Pain Online Advocacy Toolkit is that it helps advocates create individualized advocacy action plans and educational materials, such as fact sheets or presentations that are tailored to the advocate’s specific area of focus.
The development of the Toolkit is part of Purdue’s continued commitment to “serving patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to help alleviate unnecessary suffering by advancing standards of pain care through education and advocacy”.
Below you will find the In the Face of Pain Online Advocacy Toolkit logo and the direct web site link. Please feel free to share this information with others and/or include it in your communications with members of your association. We have also developed a template newsletter article for your organization where you can highlight your quote and commitment to pain advocacy efforts.
www.inthefaceofpain.com
If you have information and resources that you think would be beneficial for the users of this Toolkit, please let us know. We welcome your feedback and any suggestions you may have.
Thank you again for your continued advocacy efforts fighting for the rights of people in pain. Your work is making a difference.
Kindest regards,
Pamela Bennett, RN, BSN
Kimberley Tiller, RN, MPH
Executive Director Assistant Director
Healthcare Alliance Development Healthcare Alliance Development
Purdue Pharma L.P. Purdue Pharma L.P.”
From the UK
The End of Life Strategy was launched in the UK backed by £286 million pounds to help people receive high quality care, mainly at home. It is hoped that by 2011 the government will have met its 2005 manifesto to double the investment in palliative care.
Launching the strategy today (16 July, 2008), Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: "People coming to the end of their lives and their loved ones deserve high quality, compassionate and dignified care, on their own terms. This strategy will help make that happen. We have already made £40m available to hospices to improve environments and provide greater dignity for patients, and we recently invested £4.5m to help build a Marie Curie state of the art hospice in the West Midlands. Now this increased funding will continue momentum for improvement and help make sure that everyone gets access to high quality palliative care and has choice about where that care takes place."
To learn more visit the following URLs:
National End of Life Care Programme - www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk
End of Life Care Strategy - http://tinyurl.com/5rmox4
For further information:
Willem Scholten, PharmD MPA
Manager Access to Controlled Medications Programme and
Secretary of the Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence (Dependence Liability)
World Health Organization, Geneva Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 79 15540,
e-mail : [email protected] |
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