I am Harold Sox. Our over 100,000 members practice internal medicine and its subspecialties and provide the majority of care for adults. Senator Wyden, thank you for hosting this forum and for your interest in improving the comfort and confidence of patients with serious pain. The ACP-ASIM looks forward to working with you on this subject, as well as other initiatives to improve care for patients who are chronically ill or near the end of life. Although it is obvious that patients in pain suffer, fear of pain is also a source of suffering for patients and their families.
Many people fear a painful death.
These fears are often well-founded, especially for patients with an eventual fatal illness. These numbers are especially compelling when you consider that each year, 2.3 million people die. Physicians cannot always eliminate pain, but they can do a better job of reducing unnecessary pain and suffering. The ACP-ASIM Ethics Manual addresses many pertinent issues, including the physician's obligation to his or her patient. The ACP-ASIM Ethics Manual notes that physicians must be up to date on the proper use of opioid analgesics, such as morphine.