What's Happening
Important
Dates:
2nd
Annual Montana
Pain Initiative
Conference:
Pain
Management Policy and Practice:
A Balanced Approach
September 5
& 6, 2008
Holiday
Inn Downtown at the Park
Missoula,
MT
In
April, the MTPI received a State Pain Activity grant from
the ACS Cancer Action Network, the non-profit, non-partisan
sister advocacy organization of ACS that supports laws and
policies that help people fight cancer.
With this funding MTPI will work to revise state medical
boards regulations and policies that are barriers to
effective pain management; and plan and coordinate the
second annual MTPI Pain Conference, titled: “Pain
Management Policy and Practice: A Balanced Approach,”
scheduled for September 5 & 6, 2008. Two national
keynote speakers have agreed to present: Scott Fishman, MD,
author of “Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician’s
Guide;” and June Dahl, PhD, ASPI co-founder.
Coming
soon link to registration form
19th
Annual Meeting of the Alliance
of State Pain
Initiatives:
Celebrating 20
Years of Progress: Transforming the Culture of Pain Care
October
30 -
November 1, 2008
Hilton Austin
Austin, TX
Implementing
the Plan:
Strategic
Planning: We
continue to work toward our 5-year goals and objectives that
were put forth in our September 2007 strategic planning
retreat (PDF). We
used our White Paper
(PDF) that was developed by the
Montana Pain and Symptom Task Force and released for public
input in April of 2007.
In April, 2008, MTPI distributed the White Paper to
over 100 opinion leaders and stakeholders across the state.
Download
a Copy of the White Paper (PDF)
To request
a hard copy Contact
Us.
Recent
Success:
Pain
Improvement Partnership
In
July, 2007, the MTPI received funding for an 8-month project
through a partnership grant from the Alliance of State Pain
Initiatives and Lance Armstrong Foundation to improve pain
management policies and structure in long-term care
facilities, home health agencies, and rural community
hospitals. We were pleased to have thirteen facilities
participate by conducting a structural assessment,
collecting patient surveys, and attending a 2-day workshop
in November, 2007. They
implemented an action plan to improve pain management in
their facility, and then returned for a 1-day workshop in
March to present their experiences. Additionally, they
reassessed their structure and patients.
Pain
management specialists from the University
of
Wisconsin
conducted the training, which also highlighted local
specialists both in pharmacological and non-pharmacological
pain management.
Each
facility will receive a report which describes the results
of an analysis of their pre- and post-action plan data, as
well as comparing them to other similar facilities that have
participated in the program. This program has been a great
success in moving facilities from education to practice
behavior change.

End
Result:
They met
and faced challenges, learned where gaps in patient care
existed, and have created various structure and policy
changes to improve pain management.
The investment in this program has been high, and all
facilities indicated a desire to come together again in six
months and share with each other their progress and
challenges.



|