Pain Management Association Shutting Down
/By Pat Anson, PNN Editor
An association of pain management providers that was a leading advocate for patient access to pain care is closing its doors. The board of directors of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management (AIPM) voted unanimously this week to cease operations, largely due to financial problems.
“This is an incredibly difficult and sad decision,” said Bob Twillman, PhD, AIPM’s Executive Director. “Our message has never been more relevant than now, amid the nation’s opioid crisis, yet we have found it increasingly difficult to maintain the resources needed to sustain our efforts.”
For over three decades, AIPM promoted an “integrative model” of pain care that utilizes a variety of different treatments, including both drug and non-drug therapies.
Although that model has become a standard of pain care, AIPM’s membership has steadily declined due to demographic and other industry trends. With doctors under increasing scrutiny for opioid prescribing, pain management is not an attractive specialty for recent medical school graduates.
“Joining associations like ours just is not a high priority for younger health care providers, and decreased interest in attending in-person educational events has contributed to significantly decreased conference revenues for AIPM,” said W. Clay Jackson, MD, President of the Board of Directors.
The demonization of opioid medication by policymakers and politicians also played a major role, causing many drug makers to limit or drop their support for medical associations and patient advocacy groups.
“My understanding is that the decreased industry support is not limited to the pain space, but it is especially acute here because for many years it was the opioid manufacturers who were the greatest source of funding,” Twillman wrote in an email to PNN. “As recently as five years ago, it would not be unusual for a company to drop nearly $100,000 at a single conference, between big exhibit hall booths, grants for continuing education programs, sponsored meal programs, and items such as bags, lanyards, key cards, etc.
“But when the lawsuits against opioid manufacturers started to ramp up, the logical response from the manufacturers was to withdraw support. After all, if they are being accused of using groups like ours as ‘front organizations,’ then it is completely logical for them to stop any behavior that might be perceived that way.”
A 2018 report by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) even accused the AIPM and other industry supported groups of playing “a significant role” in starting the opioid epidemic.
“These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of the many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history,” McCaskill's report alleged.
"Sen. McCaskill and the others haven’t spent the necessary time talking to us to understand how we do things and what we have to offer," Twillman said at the time. "It appears that they’ve simply looked at how much money we got from a set of pharma companies, constructed a narrative about what that means, and published it."
Over a five-year period, McCaskill’s report found that AIPM received over $1.25 million in support from opioid makers. But the report failed to mention that AIPM also accepted funding from chiropractors, yoga therapists, acupuncturists and massage therapists.
“We’re all very sad at this turn of events, but we’re also very proud of what we accomplished.”
Among other things, those donations helped AIPM host the 2017 Integrative Pain Care Policy Congress, a meeting that united dozens of providers, insurers, patients, researchers and policymakers.
The Congress adopted a consensus definition of integrative pain management that is “person-centered and focuses on maximizing function and wellness.”
Twillman says AIPM — formerly known as the American Academy of Pain Management — had less of a financial cushion than other pain organizations and was not able to adjust to changing times or the backlash against pain management.
“I fear for the future of those organizations, because I'm not sure this set of problems is going to get better, and I don't see the other organizations adapting as quickly as perhaps they should,” said Twillman, who has long stood up for patient rights and been a reliable source of common sense for PNN.
“I very much want to remain in a pain policy position if possible, because that is my real passion,” he said. “We're all very sad at this turn of events, but we're also very proud of what we accomplished, and can only hope that others will pick up the baton and continue the race while we look for ways to keep pursuing our passion.”
