Dear Colleague:
Millions of people in the United States suffer from chronic, intractable pain that has failed to respond to conservative measures. Some of these people may be potential candidates for opioid analgesics, which can improve pain, function, and quality of life. The prescribing of opioids, however, is not risk free for either the person living with chronic (or persistent) pain or the healthcare professional, and opioid therapy has been the source of a great deal of confusion and controversy.

To address these challenges, the American Pain Foundation (APF), the nation’s leading, independent nonprofit organization serving people affected by pain, is sponsoring this updated version of the National Initiative on Pain Control^® (NIPC^®) Opioid Analgesia Tool Kit.

The tool kit has been thoroughly revised and redesigned into a user-friendly, practical tool featuring all the latest resources for treating your patients using chronic opioid therapy. The tool kit is framed around the NIPC^® Critical Thinking Model for Chronic Opioid Therapy, which will be your “roadmap” for key milestones associated with opioid prescribing. The resources included in the tool kit will aid you in optimizing analgesia for your patients, using opioid therapy safely and responsibly, and fostering compliance with state and federal regulations.

A “walk-through” of the tool kit is available in the left navigation bar (“Getting Started”). We hope that you will find this resource useful for treating your patients and ultimately improving outcomes.

Sincerely,
Bill H. McCarberg, MD
Chair, Opioid Analgesia Tool Kit Task Force