FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (10/7/10)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., President
American Pain Institute (API)
918-398-9434 662-247-3364
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com
web sites: www.AmericanPainInstitute.org
www.MyersFoundation.net
Pain Patients Call For Governor Bebee to
Enforce Arkansas Chronic Pain Treatment Act
Pain Patients Leaders Want the Arkansas
Chronic Pain Treatment Act Enforced
(LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS) - In a recent letter, the Arkansas Pain Patients Advocacy Coalition (APPAC), a grassroots
organization of pain patients and pain treatment advocates, wants Governor Bebee and the Arkansas Legislature to make sure
that the Arkansas State Medical Board follows the dictates and spirit of the 2003 Chronic Pain Treatment Act.
"Physicians who treat chronic pain patients often are scared to prescribe drugs because they don't want to be punished by
the state," says Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & President of the American Pain Institute (API).
Dr. Myers helped organize a coalition of Arkansas chronic pain patients and physicians to pass the 2003 Chronic Pain
Treatment Act with the goal of allowing doctors to treat chronic pain without losing their medical licenses. Despite the
legislation, many physicians in Arkansas are refusing to treat chronic pain patients or are just simply moving to another
state.
"These physicians see how the Arkansas State Medical Board deals with so many of their colleagues who treat
chronic pain patients," states Dr. Myers. "For whatever reasons, many of these physicians end up losing their medical
practices. This has created a tremendous fear on the part of physicians to prescribe any narcotic pain medications despite
how badly they are needed for chronic pain patients to function day to day."
Dr. Myers describes it as the "chilling affect" toward pain treatment in Arkansas . The purpose of the 2003
Chronic Pain Treatment Act was to remove this fear factor so that more doctors would treat chronic pain patients.
Instead, Dr. Myers contends that things have gotten worse, with an increasing number of chronic pain patients without a
physician to treat them.
"The state of Arkansas is the home of thousands of people who suffer with chronic pain," states Tina Crenshaw,
Chairwoman of APPAC. "Our medications are desperately needed so that we can lead productive lives. In far
too many cases, being able to work, let alone, getting out of bed every day, would not be possible without the narcotic pain
medications that we must have prescribed to us from the physicians who are willing to treat us."
This week pain patient advocates plan to attend public meetings of the Arkansas State Medical Board, in Little Rock,
Arkansas to show support for Arkansas physicians who are appearing before the board in regards to chronic pain treatment
issues. They have invited their legislators to join them so that they can see first hand how the medical board deals with
physicians who treat chronic pain patients and ignore the spirit and dictates of the 2003 Arkansas Chronic Pain Treatment
Act.
For more information contact Tina Crenshaw at 870-371-0611, e-mail: painpatient1@yahoo.com or Dr. Myers at
918-398-9434 or 662-247-3364, e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com; web site:
www.AmericanPainInstitute.org.
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