Pain, the most common symptom of disease or disability, affects an estimated 80 million Americans, and is a worldwide problem. Effects of chronic pain on personal and job-related productivity and quality of life are immense. Although an important function of every physician, the assessment and management of pain occupies little time in medical school curricula or in postgraduate education. At the 1995 American Medical Association Annual Meeting, the primary recommendation of the Council on Scientific Affairs was for the AMA to focus attention on pain management education for physicians and medical students. Physician-related barriers to optimal pain management include: 1) difficulty in performing adequate pain assessment, 2) incomplete physician knowledge of opioid and non- opioid analgesic pharmacology, and 3) lack of expertise or knowledge about risks of opioid use. The purpose of this SBIR is to develop a design for the production of a comprehensive, CME-accredited, CD-ROM educational program for physicians and other health professionals for the diagnosis and pharmacological management of chronic pain. In Phase I we will develop the scientific content and technical specifications, produce and evaluate a prototype, and develop Phase 11 plans for production and evaluation of the final program.
With no competing products currently available and a market potential of over 650,000 primary care physicians, 125 medical schools, and 2500 nursing programs in the US alone, the proposed product has tremendous commercial viability. Worldwide distribution will be made possible with SilverPlatter Education, the premier publisher of educational products with pre-existing market penetration in the medical community and an alliance with the American Medical Association for CME accreditation.
