I’m pleased to say that I’ve signed the White House Petition that was recently launched by the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association (NFMCPA) with Consumer Pain Advocacy Task Force (CPATF). The petition asks the White House to implement and fund the National Pain Strategy (NPS) toward a better future for people with debilitating, life-altering chronic pain.

I ask you to consider signing the White House Petition as well.

If the petition fails to meet the 100,000 signature threshold by August 12th, it will not receive a response. I share this because Jan Chambers, President of the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association, is a longtime associate who shares my experience in working with people in pain and understanding their needs. I support her petition and her call to enact the NPS.

What Is The National Pain Strategy? 

Chambers explains, “The National Pain Strategy is a first-of-its-kind blueprint for improving chronic pain care in America that increases research of pain treatments, medical training for clinicians, and awareness of chronic pain as a disease of epidemic proportions. Without an outcry from patients and advocates, NPS may not be implemented or funded at all. The chronic pain epidemic must be addressed immediately by fully implementing and funding the NPS.”

Along with signing the petition, I’d also ask you to consider writing a blog to explain why you support the National Pain Strategy, and urging your social network followers to sign and share the petition, too. This is the link for the petition that I’d ask you to post: bit.ly/whp-nps. Please use the #ISpeakForPain hashtag in your tweets and posts. Chambers also asks supporters to “say why the chronic pain stigma needs to be lessened, why chronic pain patients need to be heard, or why you do what you do to help chronic pain patients, etc.”

Challenges People in Pain Face 

In addition to signing the petition, I recently met with my representative, Chris Stewart, to urge him to remember the needs of people in pain. He was appreciative of my bringing these concerns to him. I believe he has more insight now and is aware of the challenges people in pain face. I plan to follow up with him to encourage his support of the National Pain Strategy.

I put my faith in the National Pain Strategy (NPS). It is the first strategic plan for transforming and advancing pain prevention, treatment, education and research in the United States. My colleagues and I at the American Academy of Pain Medicine are urging the White House to support the National Pain Strategy. We are urging the United States President to advocate for people in pain with the same level of support as he’s put into addressing the opioid crisis.

More Must Be Done to Help People in Pain

Collectively we need to urge our policymakers and the President to make a major commitment to improve the lives of people with pain. The first step is to acknowledge there must be more done to help people with pain. The National Pain Strategy is the appropriate policy to support this effort.

I hope I can count on you to be part of this movement.  Thank you for your time and willingness to consider signing the White House Petition.

Purchase my book The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why It Matters to Each of Us (available on Amazon) or read a free excerpt here.

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Copyright 2016, Lynn Webster, MD

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