National call for effective pain management in primary care

In a sig­nif­i­cant move towards improv­ing pain man­age­ment strate­gies across Aus­tralia, recent par­lia­men­tary meet­ings, includ­ing the Arthri­tis Aus­tralia Par­lia­men­tary Sum­mit and the Chron­ic Pain Aus­tralia Par­lia­men­tary Meet­ing, have under­scored the urgent need for effec­tive pain man­age­ment in pri­ma­ry care set­tings. These dis­cus­sions brought togeth­er health­care pro­fes­sion­als, pol­i­cy­mak­ers, researchers, con­sumers, and advo­cates to address the press­ing chal­lenges faced by indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with chron­ic pain. On behalf of the Chron­ic Pain Statewide Clin­i­cal Net­work (SCN), Prof Anne Burke, Clin­i­cal Net­work Lead was invit­ed to par­tic­i­pate in the high-lev­el meet­ings. The rec­om­men­da­tions aris­ing from these meet­ings high­light­ed South Australia’s pro­pos­al for an opti­mal sys­tem of care for low back pain as a trans­lat­able mod­el for com­mu­ni­ty-based pain care. While it’s specif­i­cal­ly named for low back pain, this mod­el is appro­pri­ate for a broad range of chron­ic pain types and can be eas­i­ly adapt­ed for oth­er chron­ic con­di­tions, mak­ing it a ver­sa­tile approach that aligns with nation­al care stan­dards and evi­dence-based prac­tices. Impor­tant­ly, the mod­el adheres to the nation­al con­sen­sus on how pain should be man­aged and treat­ed in the community. 

The nation­al meet­ings high­light­ed sev­er­al crit­i­cal outcomes: 

1. Access to Mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary Care

A key focus of the dis­cus­sions was the neces­si­ty for enhanced access to mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary care with­in the com­mu­ni­ty. Par­tic­i­pants empha­sised that bridg­ing the gap between gen­er­al prac­tice and ter­tiary ser­vices is essen­tial for pro­vid­ing com­pre­hen­sive sup­port to patients. This approach not only improves patient out­comes but also alle­vi­ates the bur­den on hos­pi­tals and spe­cial­ist services. 

2. Inte­gra­tion of Ser­vices

The inte­gra­tion of var­i­ous health­care ser­vices — rang­ing from phys­io­ther­a­py and psy­chol­o­gy to pain man­age­ment spe­cial­ists — was recog­nised as vital. By fos­ter­ing col­lab­o­ra­tion among dif­fer­ent dis­ci­plines, patients can receive holis­tic care that address­es both the phys­i­cal and psy­cho­log­i­cal aspects of chron­ic pain. 

3. Edu­ca­tion and Train­ing for Pri­ma­ry Care Providers

To effec­tive­ly man­age chron­ic pain, there is a press­ing need for ongo­ing edu­ca­tion and train­ing for pri­ma­ry care providers. The meet­ings called for the devel­op­ment of tar­get­ed train­ing pro­grams that equip gen­er­al prac­ti­tion­ers with the skills and knowl­edge nec­es­sary to man­age com­plex pain con­di­tions effectively. 

4. Pol­i­cy Rec­om­men­da­tions

The sum­mit par­tic­i­pants pro­posed sev­er­al pol­i­cy rec­om­men­da­tions aimed at enhanc­ing pain man­age­ment strate­gies, including: 

• Increased fund­ing for com­mu­ni­ty-based pain man­age­ment programs. 

• Devel­op­ment of nation­al guide­lines for chron­ic pain management. 

• Sup­port for research ini­tia­tives focused on inno­v­a­tive pain man­age­ment techniques. 

5. Advo­ca­cy for Patient-Centred Care

A strong empha­sis was placed on the need for patient-cen­tred care mod­els that pri­ori­tise the unique needs and pref­er­ences of indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with chron­ic pain. Engag­ing patients in their care plans not only empow­ers them but also leads to bet­ter adher­ence to treat­ment pro­to­cols, includ­ing sup­port­ed self-management. 

Wrap up

The out­comes of these impor­tant meet­ings serve as a call for stake­hold­ers across the health­care sys­tem to pri­ori­tise effec­tive pain man­age­ment in pri­ma­ry care. By embrac­ing a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary approach, invest­ing in edu­ca­tion, and advo­cat­ing for pol­i­cy changes, Aus­tralia can move towards a future where indi­vid­u­als liv­ing with chron­ic pain receive the com­pre­hen­sive care they deserve. 

In South Aus­tralia, through the work of the Chron­ic Pain SCN, the opti­mal sys­tem of care for low back pain offers a ready-to-imple­ment and adapt­able pri­ma­ry care-based mod­el to opti­mise pain man­age­ment through a more appro­pri­ate and con­sis­tent care path­way that’s man­aged in the com­mu­ni­ty and by pri­ma­ry care. 

Togeth­er, let’s make effec­tive pain man­age­ment a cor­ner­stone of pri­ma­ry health­care in Australia! 

Read our pro­pos­al for an opti­mal sys­tem of care for low back pain in South Australia.

Check out the Chron­ic Pain SCN page for more infor­ma­tion about the work of the Network.