HOUSE MEMORIAL 98

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO COLLABORATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER PAIN CENTER TO DESIGN A SURVEY OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS TO ASCERTAIN THEIR NEEDS IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE OVERDOSE DEATHS FROM PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

     WHEREAS, high rates of opioid misuse, drug dependency and the impact of drug abuse on New Mexicans are serious concerns; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, New Mexico ranked second in the country for drug-overdose-related deaths, and one-third of all New Mexico counties had drug-overdose death rates that were more than twice the United States rate; and

     WHEREAS, drug-overdose deaths comprise the largest category of unintentional injury deaths in New Mexico, exceeding both deaths from falls and from motor vehicle crashes, according to department of health statistics; and

     WHEREAS, opioid misuse and dependence is a complex issue that requires innovative approaches to the reduction in drug use; and

     WHEREAS, failure to deliver proper pain management is a public health crisis brought on by improper assessment, inadequate, inappropriate or nonexistent treatment, cultural factors and personal bias; and

     WHEREAS, one hundred million Americans suffer from persistent pain each year, according to an institute of medicine of the national academy of sciences report; and

     WHEREAS, almost all people are at risk of chronic pain, which can come with age or genetic predisposition; as a component of another chronic disease; or as the result of surgery or injury; and

     WHEREAS, how people respond to pain depends on many factors, including genetic characteristics, general health status, pain experiences in childhood that affect the brain's processing system, the emotional and cognitive context in which pain occurs and cultural and social factors; and

     WHEREAS, if chronic pain were better managed medically, it might prevent drug-overdose deaths by preventing "self-medicators" and opioid dependence; and

     WHEREAS, pain can more effectively be managed with appropriate medical assessment and treatment plans; and

     WHEREAS, as no single treatment plan is effective for every person, an evaluation by a health care professional and patient team can provide individualized pain-management options; and

     WHEREAS, the prescription drug misuse and overdose prevention and pain management advisory council has recommended that the department of health and the university of New Mexico health sciences center pain center conduct an anonymous survey of chronic pain patients to address their needs and to learn more about this patient pool;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health be requested to collaborate with the university of New Mexico health sciences center pain center to design a survey to find chronic pain patients and ascertain their needs in an effort to reduce overdose deaths from prescription drugs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the survey be designed to collect data on the incidence and prevalence of chronic pain in New Mexicans; the interference with daily living and work activities due to chronic pain; the utilization of clinical and social services as a result of chronic pain; the direct and indirect costs of chronic pain and chronic pain care; and the comparative effectiveness of treatments in reducing pain and chronic pain-related disability; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be requested to provide a report on the results of the survey to the legislative health and human services committee by January 1, 2016; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health and the chancellor for health services at the university of New Mexico health sciences center.

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