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Charles Marwick

JAMA. 1999;281:406-407.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Washington—A series of studies on legal and regulatory issues involved in the management of pain were the focus of a recent press conference here when Sandra H. Johnson, JD, provost of Saint Louis University in Missouri, announced findings published in the winter issue of The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (1998;26:265-352).

Among the oft-cited—and the more obscure—points Johnson made about treating pain are the following:

• The legal and reimbursement systems have failed to keep up with improved methods of managing pain, and the result is persistent undertreatment.
  
• Health insurers like Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS), as well as Medicare and Medicaid, have no clear-cut policies regarding reimbursement for pain relief, and physicians continue to err on the side of caution when prescribing pain medication for fear of prosecution.
  
• Effective treatment for pain exists but frequently isn't getting to those who need it.
  
• Drugs for relieving pain are . . . [Full Text of this Article]