State Policies Designed to Curb Misuse of Controlled Substances Restrict Legit Pain Treatment: Reform Needed
From 1999 to 2003, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School conducted an assessment of state laws, regulations and guidelines for treating pain with controlled substances and disseminated their findings.
Key Results
Using the grants, project staff:
- Published Achieving Balance in Federal and State Pain Policy: A Guide to Evaluation (Evaluation Guide) in 2000 and a subsequent update in 2003, presenting findings of a systematic criteria-based evaluation of pain-related policies from the federal government, the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Prepared a Progress Report Card on state pain policies, which grades and ranks all states based on their policy content.
- Disseminated information and provided technical assistance on pain policies to states and leading national organizations.