www.nationalpainreport.com/another-pain-organization-to-shut-down-8839923.html
Another pain organization apparently is going out of business.
The American Pain Society is filing for bankruptcy and ceasing to exist in its current form.
“It’s a sad day for U.S. pain research, education, advocacy and patient care,” said Stanford’s Beth Darnall, Ph.D., in a tweet this week.
APS is the second pain organization this year to announce it’s shutting down.
The Academy of Integrative Pain announced it was closing down in February. The reasons appear to be similar.
All membership organizations are struggling with the fact that the new generation of doctors are simply joining as previous generations.
“People entering practice after training just aren’t seeing the value in joining organizations. They still want the educational materials and the networking, but much more of that can be done online these days,” said Bob Twillman, Ph.D., who ran AIPM.”
As a result, he said, there’s no need to attend big meetings at resorts or in expensive hotels which tend to attract sponsorship from companies that do business in the specialty.
U.S. Pain Foundation, the largest patient advocacy group in the country, also expressed its sadness that APS is shutting down—terming it “heartbreaking.”
“There are 50 million Americans living with #pain. Hard to believe there are so few orgs left for pain providers. When providers don’t have support and resources, it hurts patients,” US Pain tweeted this week.
One critic of the opioid companies was less charitable.
Andrew Kolodny, M.D. of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) tweeted:
“Good riddance! Despite having many members who understood opioids were lousy drugs for chronic pain, APS took millions from opioids makers, downplayed opioid risks, exaggerated opioid benefits, and lobbied against limits on opioid manufacturer,” he said.
Twillman indicated he believes the reasons for the demise of both AIPM and APS—notably the lack of support from industry and declining membership—may existentially threaten other organizations in the future.
Calls to APS offices in Chicago were not returned.
As thirty odd state AG’s suing more and more parts of those entities and businesses involved in the chronic pain disease management. More and more are pulling back on their support of various non profits that are advocates for chronic pain treatment and in turn those organizations are losing funding and having to fold their tent.
It all started with Siobhan Reynolds and her Pain Relief Network that was “put out of business” by being targeted by law enforcement and several bureaucratic agencies .. .which in essence forced the non-profit into bankruptcy https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/santafenewmexican/obituary.aspx?pid=155321117
Now we have two more non profit advocacy groups that are “folding their tents” because of direct/indirect actions of the various bureaucratic agencies.
Does this mean that those in the chronic pain community are ON THEIR OWN to defend their right to appropriate medications and therapies ? Given what has happened, it is probably best that any non-profit that will be established should seek donations on a monthly basis $5 – $10 for a few million chronic painers would allow the non profit to be active and successful and not sitting on all that many dollars in reserve so that it is less attractive as a target for the bureaucrats. They come after the non profit… the non profit sends out a notice to all those contributing to STOP… and if somehow they confiscate the $$ in reserve… the non profit declares bankruptcy and create a new non profit because there is a legion of chronic painers willing to continue to contribute their $5-$10/month to the new non profit. As far as the bureaucrats are concerned the agenda of the chronic painers will be like trying to catch a “greased pig”. When the bureaucrats are using the laws against you… you use the legal system to blunt their attempts to stop you.
Filed under: General Problems
Gee, supposedly Killer Klown Kolodny’s addiction treatment centers are non-profit…shouldn’t they be going after that schmuck’s racket? Does KKK have pictures of AGs & the CDC etc in compromising positions with sheep, or what? Why else does the slime weasel continue to be allowed to cause the torture & murder of millions with impunity –heck, with encouragement?
Anybody know how to start a non-profit? I’d contribute the few bucks I can scrape up if someone will start one, or a major lawsuit, or something. I’d start one if I had any clue whatsoever how to go about either of those things. The Oregon pain task farce already is convinced that all us advocates are being paid by some unknown sinister force, so what the heck? Since I’m accused already, might as well do the “crime” of fighting against state-sanctioned torture & murder.
What the heck did they charge the non-profit with that forced them out??
Well I have said before that I think Dr. Kolodny is simply a front-man and, if needed, a fall guy to take the heat off of the real prime mover when they get caught. I am thinking now that prime mover IS Big Insurance who then whispered into the DOJ/AGs ears who THEN whispered into other selected investors ears in the FDA and HHS and Medicare/Medicaid, …who have been suspiciously FAR TO SILENT) to kill two birds with one stone Juniors’ OD and individual doctor liability for Junior’s OD. OD IS up, attributable in part to illicit fentanyl (just as it is STILL up NOW after this big trimming down for legitimate pain patients) and some true addictions are triggered by initial prescription opiate exposure and quite simply the LIABILITY for that MUST have gone pretty high.
Their REAL fear was it would come down to patients suing doctors. So as a pre-emptive strike and the way to ‘make a bundle’ the AG sues pharma, get their house on the hill and a lifetime supply of the medicine of their choice (that they can make or just seize), pay the satellite investors and maybe then they will move on and things will get back to normal, as they always do after a deadly hurricane.
Wait… Ya already said you were all in the DPPR canarensis, right?
F1; sorry, didn’t see your comment w/the question before I wrote the reply below (it sure would be handy if these blog providers would have an option to edit comments…my other fave blog, EDS & chronic pain, also has no way to edit…I don’t even know if it’s possible on my own blog).
anyway. Yes, I’ve gone to DPP rallies, but don’t really know about the org itself. looks like it’s time to learn.
READ this version. When I write I NEED an edit function 🙂
Well I have said before that I think Dr. Kolodny is simply a front-man and, if needed, a fall guy to take the heat off of the real prime mover when they get caught. I am thinking now that prime mover IS Big Insurance who then whispered into the DOJ/AGs ears for help and who THEN whispered into other selected investors ears in the FDA and HHS and Medicare/Medicaid (who have been suspiciously FAR TO SILENT) to kill two birds with one stone – namely; Juniors’ OD and individual doctor liability for Junior’s OD. Big insurance didn’t want to pay that out even though it was mostly an illicit use OD thing and doctors could easily been proven innocent, as they are now, with a little work.
OD IS up, attributable to illicit fentanyl (just as it is STILL up NOW after this big trimming down for legitimate pain patients proving it is an illicit use issue) although it was always true that some true addictions are triggered by initial prescription opiate exposure. Quite simply the LIABILITY for that MUST have gone up sky high. So now Big Insurance doesn’t HAVE TO prescribe our pain medicine (thanks to the well crafted BUT FALSE narrative (a lie)) and the DOJ does the ‘Dirty Work’ and gets to ‘place the real blame’ and a new house from pharma mfg.
Big Insurance’s REAL fear was it would come down to patients suing doctors and it would ALL come out of their round and satisfied bellies. So as a pre-emptive strike and ALSO the way to ‘make a bundle’ the AG sues pharma, get their house on the hill and a lifetime supply of the medicine of their choice (that they can make or just seize), pay the satellite investors their ‘hush money’ and maybe then they will move on and things will get back to normal, as they always do after any deadly conflict.
Well since any non-profit that starts to collect money is eyed-up instantly and hungrily by certain other littler groups …and then slanderous, loopy comments made by some of those about ‘stealing the money’, what’s the point?
The largest organization with the sharpest minds and the greatest scope and the farthest reach and the most true friends among Other Groups and Medical Doctors – and is branching into lawyer stuff and Washington stuff and State stuff is Don’t Punish Pain Rally. I say as a matter of principal and common sense we should throw in with them and get these Enemy Combatants into a court room.
F1; is DPP getting legal attacks going (or trying to), or have legal advisors, or anything? I’ve just gone to the rallies but haven’t looked into the org itself. i’m going crazy feeling like nothing substantive is happening & am considering trying to find attorney(s) & fundraising myself, but I’m a science type, not a legal/PR type & have no idea how to start.
Yes, they have a web page but the main locus is at Facebook where it exists as the Don’t Punish Pain Rally National, and there is one for almost every individual State e.g. Don’t Punish Pain Rally – Wisconsin. Claudia Merandi the founder is branching it out in addition to the valuable rallies with the help of State Lead activists. Now the efforts to organize doctors and pursue lawyers is rather new but developing rapidly among other groups working similarly at Facebook. Her channel at Youtube “DPP RALLY TALK SHOW with CLAUDIA” (youtube.com/channel/UCFfDE_PChWGMbqNPID661kQ) and her appearances at Jonelle Elgaway’s “Conspiracies Against Wellness” (youtube.com/channel/UCci1m071vRL-aOZmEfTd1Ew/videos) also at Youtube, where our Pharmacist Steve and many other doctors and advocates have been interviewed recently, provide some of the the latest details about the status of the many powerful efforts and latest news, like ours here at Steve’s, and can be replayed.
F1; thanks, I’ll look further into it.
I’m so incredibly tired from fighting the hysteria, from being at a much lower dose of my pain meds (tho that’s better than none, which is where I was for a while), from reading about yet more people that have killed themselves because….there is no sane reason.
Sure. You can. But you sound like how I was a little bit. Too angry, ready to fight and not the good kind. I was just beating myself up. I had to let others worry for me until I could do it again, or I was gonna blow a gasket.