CEO DATELINE - Pain scientists form new association after previous organization dissolved
CEO DATELINE - Pain scientists form new association after previous organization dissolved
- August 7, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
A group of scientists has formed a new association to represent pain researchers and health professionals after their previous organization, the American Pain Society, was sued out of existence, The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported.
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APS ceased operations in 2019 after more than 40 years. Cities and insurers sued the association for allegedly downplaying the dangers of opioids and contributing to the current opioid epidemic, according to the publication.
Former APS members have started a new 501(c)(3) group called the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain with the goal of bringing together "diverse perspectives to promote scientific advancements, clinical interventions, and community outreach to directly impact the lives of patients with pain," according to its website. The new organization will provide networking and research collaboration opportunities for members, with the founders promising not to make the same mistakes that led to the downfall of APS.
"This is not American Pain Society 2.0," Jessica Merlin, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and the new society's elected secretary, told the Chronicle.
One of the first moves by USAPS was to purchase the former APS publication The Journal of Pain through a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe, according the group's website. It has also formed a 12-member board of directors and applied to become the official U.S. chapter of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
"This initial Board of Directors of the USASP will have a lot to accomplish in its first year, including a membership drive, the first annual meeting, and the application to be the U.S. chapter of the IASP, all done in the face of an ongoing pandemic, opioid crisis, and long overdue cultural revolution," the group said on its website. "But with an established journal to our name, the USASP will be starting out with at least one solid block in the foundation upon which we will be building a new association."
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