The American Pain Society (APS) was a professional membership organization and a national chapter of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). The organization closed in 2019 amid the opioid epidemic as the organization faced allegations that it colluded with opioid producers to promote opioids.[1]

American Pain Society
FormationMarch 6, 1977 (1977-03-06)
DissolvedJune 2019 (2019-06)
TypeMultidisciplinary community of scientists, clinicians and other professionals
Headquarters8735 W. Higgins Road, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60631
Membership
>2,500
Official language
English
President
Roger Fillingim, PhD
Key people
Chief Executive Officer: Carly Reisner
Websitehttps://web.archive.org/web/20190829194735/http://americanpainsociety.org/

History

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Around the time of Purdue Pharma releasing OxyContin into the market in 1996, the society introduced "pain as 5th vital sign" campaign.[2] APS was reported to be one of several nonprofit groups that advocated use of opioid painkillers contributing to the Opioid epidemic in the United States.[3][4]

In June 2019, the APS was forced to close amid allegations that it colluded with pharmaceutical companies producing opioids.[1] The APS claimed that the reason for the bankruptcy was the numerous legal expenses which resulted from lawsuits claiming the organization was acting as a front group for opioid drugmakers.[5] The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that several former APS members are organizing a new society called the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain.[6]

ACTTION-APS Pain Taxonomy

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Together with The Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations Innovations Opportunities and Networks (ACTTION) partnership with the FDA, the APS developed the ACTTION-APS Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) to provide a consistent diagnostic system for chronic pain disorders.[7] [8]

Publications

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The society's official journal was titled The Journal of Pain, and published by Elsevier.[9] The society had issued a total of nine guidelines throughout its period of existence.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gourd, Elizabeth (2019). "American Pain Society forced to close due to opioid scandal". The Lancet Oncology. 20 (7): e350. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30380-8. PMID 31160248. S2CID 174808691.
  2. ^ Hirsch R (2017). "The Opioid Epidemic: It's Time to Place Blame Where It Belongs". Missouri Medicine. 114 (2): 82–90. PMC 6140023. PMID 30228543.
  3. ^ "American Pain Foundation Shuts Down as Senators Launch Investigation of Prescription Narcotics". 8 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Enduring pain: How a 1996 opioid policy change had long-lasting effects". TheGuardian.com. 30 March 2018.
  5. ^ Clark, Cheryl (24 May 2019). "American Pain Society Seeks OK to Call It Quits". MedPage Today. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  6. ^ "After Their Group Was Sued Out of Existence, These Scientists Are Building a New One". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  7. ^ https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(18)30832-0/fulltext
  8. ^ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36243317/
  9. ^ "Aims". jpain.org. Elsevier. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Complete list of APS guidelines". Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.