The pain game: Who’s really calling the shots in the new era of pain management?

Pain is a universal human experience – yet it’s deeply personal, often invisible, and somewhat dismissed. In this Health Industry Hub podcast, Joyce McSwan, Managing Director of PainWISE and past President of the Australian Pain Society, and Monika Boogs, CEO of Pain Australia, step into the spotlight to unpack one of healthcare’s most complex frontiers.

What do patients really want when it comes to pain management and where does the down-scheduled Celebrex Relief (celecoxib 200mg) fit in to the treatment paradigm? McSwan and Boogs delve into the lived experience of acute and chronic pain, pulling back the curtain on why so many Australians still slip through the cracks of the healthcare system, unheard and under-treated.

Australia may be the first country with a National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management, but policy on paper means little without political will. Boogs shares how Pain Australia is gearing up to work with the re-elected Labor government to make pain management more than just a footnote in the health agenda.

Meanwhile, the latest Australian Acute Pain Survey reveals that pain isn’t just personal – it’s economic. With three in four Aussies reporting acute pain in the past 12 months and more than half taking sick leave as a result, McSwan brings the pharmacist’s perspective into sharp focus. Pharmacies are no longer just dispensaries – they’re becoming front-line responders.

With Australian manufactured Celebrex Relief now TGA-approved for pharmacy use, the down-scheduling of pain medicines for acute pain is no longer a theoretical debate. What does easier access really mean for patients? And more controversially – who gets to own the patient journey? As pharmacists’ scope of practice expands, the pushback from the RACGP and AMA has been loud. But should it be?

Finally, McSwan casts an eye to the horizon on what’s next in the evolution of how we treat and understand acute and chronic pain.

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