THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

49

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

urging the offering of continuing medical education on pain management.

 

WHEREAS, according to recent research studies on pain management, pain is one of the most common reasons for patients to seek medical attention and one of the most prevalent medical complaints in the United States; and

WHEREAS, in a 1999 Gallup survey, nine out of ten Americans aged eighteen or older reported suffering pain at least once a month, and forty-two per cent of adults reported experiencing pain daily; and

WHEREAS, approximately seventy-five million Americans experience persistent pain, and at least nine per cent of the American adult population are estimated to suffer from moderate to severe nonmalignant pain; and

WHEREAS, women, minority groups, elderly persons, especially nursing home residents, and individuals with cancer are at appreciable risk of suboptimal pain assessment and treatment; and

WHEREAS, patients with persistent pain can be especially difficult to treat, and in one American Pain Society survey, forty-seven per cent of those with moderate, severe, or very severe pain reported changing physicians at least once since their initial visit for pain relief due to unrelieved suffering, the physician's lack of knowledge, the physician's failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the pain, or the physician's unwillingness to treat the pain aggressively; and

WHEREAS, managing pain in special populations can be particularly challenging, and in several studies on ethnicity and analgesic practice, it was found that patients who were members of racial and ethnic minorities received less analgesia than patients who were not; and

WHEREAS, pain management education offers physicians and other healthcare providers the opportunity to address the prevailing attitudes towards pain that hinder optimal pain management and to develop the skills required to evaluate and manage pain; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Hawaii Consortium of Continuing Medical Education, Castle Medical Center, Hawaii Ophthalmological Society, Hilo Medical Center, Honolulu Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, Kona Community Hospital, Kuakini Medical Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center, North Hawaii Community Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Straub Clinic and Hospital, Straub Foundation, St. Francis Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center West, Wahiawa General Hospital, and Wilcox Memorial Hospital are urged to offer continuing medical education programs on pain management; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Hawaii Consortium of Continuing Medical Education, Castle Medical Center, Hawaii Ophthalmological Society, Hilo Medical Center, Honolulu Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, Kona Community Hospital, Kuakini Medical Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center, North Hawaii Community Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Straub Clinic and Hospital, Straub Foundation, St. Francis Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center West, Wahiawa General Hospital, and Wilcox Memorial Hospital.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Continuing Medical Education; Pain Management