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Access Matters: Making Sense of Health Coverage

If you have a hard time making sense of health insurance or if you struggle because you don't have adequate coverage, you're not alone. It's important to get organized and play an active role in managing your healthcare and related finances. As part of its commitment to improving access to timely pain management, APF is proud to unveil a new booklet, Access Matters: Making Sense of Health Coverage. This booklet provides general information about: various types of health insurance and programs, things to should consider when comparing health plans, how to protect and get the most from your coverage and resources and tips to advocate for your pain care.

Annual Reports

We are pleased to report on the many accomplishments that the American Pain Foundation, our network of volunteers and our partners have achieved to help improve the treatment of pain in America. Whether it's through advocacy, education and support or research promotion, we are working hard to make sure pain management is on the local, state and national agendas.

APF Report: Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions - Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management

APF convened a roundtable of leading pain experts to discuss the ongoing challenges surrounding optimal opioid therapy and pain management. Esteemed participants issued an urgent call to the pain community to begin to reframe the discussion about opioid therapy in a way that incorporates a more balanced perspective of the benefits and risks of these medications. This thoughtful and lively discussion also served as a springboard for future programming to encourage greater collaboration and consensus about opioid therapy and about prescriber patterns and perceptions.

Breakthrough Cancer Pain: Mending the Break in the Continuum of Care

The American Pain Foundation (APF) is proud to release its report “Breakthrough Cancer Pain: Mending the break in the continuum of care.” This 24-page document builds upon our initial call to action released last fall and summarizes discussions, including recommendations and areas of consensus that emerged from the February 23, 2010 roundtable organized by APF. The event, held at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, drew participants from nationally renowned medical institutions and professional and consumer advocacy organizations.

Brochures & Panel Cards

American Pain Foundation
APF Action Network
Military/Veterans Initiative
PainAid Online Community
PainSAFE

Exit Wounds: A Survival Guide to Pain Management for Returning Veterans

Written by Iraq War Veteran and Pain Advocate Derek McGinnis, Exit Wounds is both a guide to pain management for veterans and their family members and also the inspiring story of how one man, with the support of his family and fellow veterans, fought to survive and even thrive despite his traumatic injuries. To read an excerpt of Exit Wounds or to learn more about where you can obtain a copy, click here. Please read the press release.

Explain Your Pain

This brochure, with its easy-to-use self assessment worksheet, allows you to record and visually describe where your pain hurts, how it feels and when it hurts to your health care provider so he/she can assess your pain more effectively. Available in English and Spanish.

For professional printing, you must obtain prior written consent by completing and submitting a reprint agreement. Upon approval, you may download the English or Spanish version and print in compliance with the agreement.

Con la ayuda del cuestionario que se adjunta, usted puede probar formas prácticas y satisfactorias de hablar con su médico acerca del dolor crónico y manejarlo según sus necesidades. Usted tiene a disposición muchas opciones para tratar las afecciones relacionadas con el dolor y junto a su médico pueden analizar cuál es el mejor tratamiento para usted.

Fibromyalgia: the Information & Care You Deserve

Living with chronic widespread pain can be tough. But the more you learn, the better you will feel. There is hope for people with this kind of pain. Read the fibromyalgia handbook and talking points.

Finding a Health Care Provider for Your Pain

No one should have to live with pain, and ignoring it will only lead to more suffering. Finding the right health care provider to treat your pain is an important step in getting relief. Take the time to find a health care provider who has the education, skills and willingness to work with you to manage your pain.

Is Fibro the Cause? A Toolkit for People Living with Fibromyalgia

Do you or a loved one have pain all over? Do you feel overly tired or have difficulties concentrating? If so, fibromyalgia may be the cause. The American Pain Foundation (APF) developed this toolkit to help you learn more about fibromyalgia, how to recognize signs and symptoms and seek treatment. This guide is full of helpful articles, tips and resources. Use our new worksheet, Is Fibro the Cause?, to help track your symptoms and talk with your health care provider. Don't forget to use APF's Targeting Chronic Pain Notebook to keep track of your pain and how it affects you each day.

Online Manuals & Toolkits

Back Pain Online Guide
Breakthrough Cancer Pain Online Manual
Health Decision Making Online Manual
Fibromyalgia Online Toolkit

Pain Care Bill of Rights

The Pain Care Bill of Rights is available in English, Spanish and Chinese. A poster version in English is provided.

Pain Resource Guide: Getting the Help You Need

Our booklet is designed to help you take charge of your pain care. It provides important information about pain and tips to assist you in getting the quality pain care you deserve. Also included are pages to help you list your health care team and record your questions and concerns for appointments with your healthcare provider(s). We hope this will be an invaluable resource for you.

Reporter's Guide: Covering Pain & Its Management

The Guide serves as a primer on pain and pain management to help meet the informational needs of busy reporters, editors and producers covering the pain story. We know it's a complex topic, and hope you will find this to be a useful resource.

Research & Practice Update

The Research & Practice Update translates some of the latest pain research and management practices presented at select scientific meetings, as well as those published in reputable medical journals. The Update features Q&A-style articles on emerging and promising areas of pain research and other hot topics and showcases the accomplishments of up-and-coming researchers and treatment clinics.

Summer 2009: Issue 1 (PDF)
Summer 2010: Issue 2 (PDF)
Summer 2010: Issue 2 (ePublication)

Target Chronic Pain

Target Chronic Pain publications are easy-to-use practical tools for pain assessment, management and communication. The Pain Notebook helps you maintain a record of your pain and communicate your experiences. It's extremely useful when discussing levels of pain, response to treatment and improvements in functioning and side effects. Additional pages are available for printing and include Daily Log, Easing Pain, Healthcare Team, Medications, Pain Scale and Questions & Concerns worksheets.

The Target Chronic Pain Card is designed to give healthcare professionals a road map to providing quality chronic pain assessment and relief. The card contains useful resources, including protective strategies to guard against addiction, abuse and diversion, and graphs to help explain components of chronic pain.

Tools - Chronic Opioid Therapy

Chronic Opioid Therapy: Preparing for Your Appointments
If you are prescribed an opioid to help manage your pain, there are many things you need to know. This new worksheet will help you prepare for follow up medical appointments. Use this in combination with APF’s Targeting Chronic Pain Notebook.

Opioid Dos and Don’ts to Help Avoid Problems
Opioid Dos and Don'ts can help you stay safe and avoid problems when taking an opioid. For more information about how to safely use opioids and other pain therapies, visit www.painsafe.org.

Chronic Opioid Therapy Worksheet: A Companion to Chronic Pain Treatment designed for health care providers is an easy-to-use worksheet that delineates key components that should be included in each interaction with patients receiving chronic opioid therapy.

SIX OPIOID SAFETY (SOS) STEPS that everyone needs to follow when using opioids to treat pain.

Topic Briefs

Topic briefs provide an in-depth look at critical issues in pain management: Breakthrough Cancer Pain, Chronic Pain and Opioid Therapy, Integrative Medicine: Non-Drug Treatment Options, Pain Facts and Statistics, Pain in Specific Populations, Pain Management and Disparities and Primer on Pain Management.

Treatment Options: A Guide for Living With Pain

Treatment Options: A Guide for People Living with Pain is an invaluable resource. Written and reviewed by leading pain specialists, our guide provides credible, comprehensive information about medications, psychosocial interventions, complementary approaches, rehabilitation therapies, surgical interventions and more.

Yoga for Chronic Pain

Chair Yoga for Good Living is a six week relaxation curriculum (notebook, booklet and poster) tailored to meet the needs of people who are safer practicing yoga in chairs. The course is appropriate for those who do or do not use wheelchairs, who live in long term care facilities or live independently, and who cope daily with chronic pain, stress, illness, and disability.