King Launches PainBalance®: Educational Initiative To Help Reduce The Burden Of Pain

Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 04 Feb 2010 - 2:00 PST

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King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. launched PainBalance®, a new educational initiative which provides quality information, practical tools, and essential resources to healthcare professionals and others, helping them provide optimal, appropriate care for all patients with pain. An estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain,1 more than the number of people with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.2-5 Chronic pain is a serious, undertreated public health problem, and uncontrolled pain costs an estimated $100 billion in the U.S. each year.6

"Patients with chronic pain often needlessly suffer because they are not getting appropriate treatment," said Dr. Lynn Webster, Co-Founder and Medical Director of Lifetree Clinical Research® in Salt Lake City, Utah. "It is time to change that by helping healthcare professionals better understand the proper pain management that can allow more patients to enjoy quality, pain-free lives."

At the heart of the PainBalance® educational initiative is a unique, comprehensive Web site, http://www.painbalance.org, that offers a broad range of information and tools to help healthcare professionals better understand all aspects of pain management. PainBalance® has been developed through the efforts of leaders in the field of pain management, and is supported by King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc.

"Too often pain patients and in particular those with chronic pain continue to suffer because of sub-optimal pain management," said Eric Carter, Ph.D, M.D., Chief Science Officer at King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. "We are supporting the launch of PainBalance® to better equip healthcare professionals with the resources that can be applied directly to the care of their patients to improve pain management and decrease the burden of pain."

PainBalance® offers a convenient, centralized online location for all of the resources and clinical tools healthcare professionals may need to make informed decisions and provide the best possible care for their patients with all types of pain, including chronic pain.

Pain Categories and Guidelines

PainBalance® provides a complete, online aggregator of existing guidelines for all categories of pain, principles for pain management, as well as information specific to pain categories, including prevalence, types, and pathophysiology of pain.

Treatment Options and Risk Management Tips

PainBalance® provides extensive, in-depth recommendations to help clinicians assess patients' pain and determine the best course of treatment from an inclusive, up-to-date list of treatment options. PainBalance® provides a range of strategies for evaluating patients' treatment needs and risk mitigation guidance on how to minimize risks for patients when choosing treatment options.

Clinician Tools and Resources

PainBalance® includes a wide range of assessment tools and resources for clinicians. The "Opioid Risk Tool" is a quick, mobile-friendly calculator that helps quantify a patient's risk level of potential opioid abuse, and was developed by Dr. Lynn Webster. A number of other available tools can help clinicians properly assess the patient's level of pain and ability to function, helping them best capture the overall pain experience of their patients, leading to better treatment outcomes.

PainBalance® features a series of exclusive, high-quality, three-dimensional instructional animations that provide easy-to-understand information on the complex aspects of pain and pain management.

PainBalance® also provides instructional and presentation materials to help doctors mentor their peers, thus improving healthcare professionals' understanding of proper pain management.

Helping to keep healthcare professionals up-to-date on all aspect of pain management, PainBalance® will provide the latest information on research, advances in treatment, issues on policy and reimbursement, and other important news.

About King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc.

King, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, is a vertically integrated branded pharmaceutical company. King, an S&P 500 Index company, seeks to capitalize on opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry through the development, including through in-licensing arrangements and acquisitions, of novel branded prescription pharmaceutical products and technologies that complement the Company's focus in specialty-driven markets, particularly neuroscience and hospital. King's wholly owned subsidiary, Alpharma Inc., is also a leader in the development, registration, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products for food-producing animals.

References:

1. National Pain Survey, Conducted for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, 1999.

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet: General Information and National Estimates on Diabetes in the United States, 2005. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2005.

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly: Prevalence of Heart Disease. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2007.

4. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: United States.

5. National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2004

6. National Institutes of Health. NIH Guide: New Directions in Pain Research I. September 4, 1998.

Source: King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc.

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