The story of the Texas Pain Society: formation and function of a regional pain society.

The idea of forming a Texas Pain Society came to the Founders in 1987 due to disparity and deficiencies in the practice of pain management in the United States and, in particular, the State of Texas. The Founders considered very carefully the implication of forming such a society. They diligently mapped out the mission and goals of the Texas Pain Society in those early formative years. This report is the history of Texas Pain Society as the activities unfolded from 1989 to 2011. The reader may question why there is a need to tell such a story. We believe strongly that, with disparities of standards of practice in pain medicine and poor recognition of advances in pain management, this scenario is quite common in many states and countries. The practitioners of pain management in these regions certainly must have considered getting together and forming a consensus on the standards of practice in their communities. This historical report of the Texas Pain Society provides the relevant information necessary and the efforts to be made for a society's mission to achieve its goals and have an ongoing impact in its own region. We hope that we have shed some light on a process for the formation of a regional pain society such as ours.

A piece of my mind: painful prescriptions.

KIE: The author illustrates by example the myths and misconceptions that still exist among physicians concerning the proper use of narcotics to alleviate the chronic, intractable pain of advanced cancer. He maintains that the patient whose physical and psychological suffering is relieved by regularly scheduled narcotic analgesics is not an addict. Hill urges physicians to reeducate themselves about pain control and not to allow a concern for potential abuse to prejudice professional judgment and the duty to relieve pain and suffering.^ieng