Senate Launches Probe into Pain Organizations, Pharmaceutical Industry

A U.S. Senate investigation targeting an “epidemic of accidental deaths and addiction” caused by opioids is accusing both the pharmaceutical industry and pain organizations of spreading misleading information about the drugs’ safety and effectiveness, according to American News Report.

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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and nine pain organizations, saying “there is growing evidence pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market opioids may be responsible, at least in part, for this epidemic.”

Mr. Baucus and Mr. Grassley asked the pharmaceutical companies for a list of all payments  made since 1997 to nine pain organizations, including the American Pain Foundation, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society and the Federation of State Medical Boards. The letters also ask for records of payments made to several prominent pain management physicians.

The American Pain Foundation ceased operations on the same day of the Senate investigation launch, citing a lack of funds.

Related Articles on Pain Management:

Arizona Pain Specialists Add Facet Joint Injections

American Pain Foundation Dissolves From Lack of Funding

How Does Kentucky’s Latest Pain Management Legislation Impact Physicians? Q&A With Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti of the American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians

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