According to a new report issued Tuesday by leading researchers and patient advocacy groups, New York State is doing well but there is room for improvement in enacting balanced policies that enhance the delivery of effective pain management for patients battling a chronic disease such as cancer.

Nationwide, the findings showed that while states have made considerable progress over the last decade in enacting policies that enhance access to pain care, including the use of pain medications, and minimizing potential treatment barriers, this progress has slowed, and in some states declined, in recent years. The report gave New York State a letter grade of B in measuring the quality and balance of its policies to make pain treatment available to patients. The report, Achieving Balance in State Pain Policy: A Progress Report Card (CY 2015), shows the extent that state policies can support pain management and patient care. The University of Wisconsin Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) prepared the report, which was jointly funded by the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

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