HHS Establishes New Task Force on Pain Management

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the creation of a new task force to develop best practices for prescribing pain medication and for managing chronic and acute pain. HHS, along with Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, will provide oversight of the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force.

HHS is seeking member nominations from the public that include representatives of the mental health treatment and addiction treatment communities, individuals in recovery from substance use disorder, and groups with expertise on overdose reversal. Information about how to nominate individuals to serve on the task force is available in the Federal Register.

View the Federal Register Notice

The task force was authorized by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Action of 2016 and is assigned the following responsibilities:

Determining whether there are gaps or inconsistencies in pain management best practices among federal agencies.
Proposing recommendations on addressing gaps or inconsistencies.
Providing the public with an opportunity to comment on any proposed recommendations.
Developing a strategy for disseminating information about best practices.

Applications are due Wednesday, September 27, 2017.