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August 26, 2010
Washington State draft proposed rules submitted to the Pain Management Workgroup by the Medical Quality Assurance Commission's subcommittee on pain management
In February, 2010 we became aware of an issue in Washington State that a was moving rapidly through the Washington State Legislature. ASPMN believed the bill will leave many patients in unnecessary pain and put caring physicians and health care providers who try to treat their patients at risk of criminal charges. The community will also suffer the economic burden because of lost wages from increased disability, inadequate control of prescription drug abuse and an increased burden on the healthcare system. We wrote a letter, as did many other organizations, to the Governor expressing our concerns but the bill was still signed into law.
Full text of the letter
From the legislation five panels were formed to discuss this issue and provide recommendations. There is still an opportunity for us to provide input and help direct the decisions of these panels.
Below is the CR-101 (Preproposal Statement of Inquiry) that was filed by the Nursing panel (one of the five impacted professions). You can participate in the discussions and development of the required rules by attending the stakeholder meetings or submitting written comments. Written comments or questions may be submitted via email to a specific profession's program manager as noted on the CR-101, or to the pain management email at painmanagement@doh.wa.gov.
Nursing panel CR-101
There are two upcoming panel meetings: August 30 and September 14 for us to provide input. If you are in the area, please attend them and if not please send in comments. ASPMN plans to have a representative at these meetings who will provide both written and oral comments. |
