King Launches PainBalance(R): Educational Initiative to Help Reduce the Burden of Pain
03 Febrero 2010 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
PainBalance(R) Provides Comprehensive Online Resource for
Healthcare Professionals BRISTOL, Tenn., Feb. 3
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. (NYSE:KG)
today launched PainBalance®, a new educational initiative which
provides quality information, practical tools, and essential
resources to healthcare professionals and others, helping them
provide optimal, appropriate care for all patients with pain. An
estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain,(1) more than
the number of people with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer
combined.(2-5) Chronic pain is a serious, undertreated public
health problem, and uncontrolled pain costs an estimated $100
billion in the U.S. each year.(6) "Patients with chronic pain often
needlessly suffer because they are not getting appropriate
treatment," said Dr. Lynn Webster, Co-Founder and Medical Director
of Lifetree Clinical Research® in Salt Lake City, Utah. "It is time
to change that by helping healthcare professionals better
understand the proper pain management that can allow more patients
to enjoy quality, pain-free lives." At the heart of the
PainBalance® educational initiative is a unique, comprehensive Web
site, http://www.painbalance.org/, that offers a broad range of
information and tools to help healthcare professionals better
understand all aspects of pain management. PainBalance® has been
developed through the efforts of leaders in the field of pain
management, and is supported by King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. "Too
often pain patients and in particular those with chronic pain
continue to suffer because of sub-optimal pain management," said
Eric Carter, Ph.D, M.D., Chief Science Officer at King
Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. "We are supporting the launch of
PainBalance® to better equip healthcare professionals with the
resources that can be applied directly to the care of their
patients to improve pain management and decrease the burden of
pain." PainBalance® offers a convenient, centralized online
location for all of the resources and clinical tools healthcare
professionals may need to make informed decisions and provide the
best possible care for their patients with all types of pain,
including chronic pain. The Web site, http://www.painbalance.org/,
includes a "Narrative Scenarios" feature, which provides a unique,
case-based, "walk through" navigation tool to highlight the full
scope of the Web site's resources, including the following: Pain
Categories and Guidelines PainBalance® provides a complete, online
aggregator of existing guidelines for all categories of pain,
principles for pain management, as well as information specific to
pain categories, including prevalence, types, and pathophysiology
of pain. Treatment Options and Risk Management Tips PainBalance®
provides extensive, in-depth recommendations to help clinicians
assess patients' pain and determine the best course of treatment
from an inclusive, up-to-date list of treatment options.
PainBalance® provides a range of strategies for evaluating
patients' treatment needs and risk mitigation guidance on how to
minimize risks for patients when choosing treatment options.
Clinician Tools and Resources PainBalance® includes a wide range of
assessment tools and resources for clinicians. The "Opioid Risk
Tool" is a quick, mobile-friendly calculator that helps quantify a
patient's risk level of potential opioid abuse, and was developed
by Dr. Lynn Webster. A number of other available tools can help
clinicians properly assess the patient's level of pain and ability
to function, helping them best capture the overall pain experience
of their patients, leading to better treatment outcomes.
PainBalance® features a series of exclusive, high-quality,
three-dimensional instructional animations that provide
easy-to-understand information on the complex aspects of pain and
pain management. PainBalance® also provides instructional and
presentation materials to help doctors mentor their peers, thus
improving healthcare professionals' understanding of proper pain
management. Helping to keep healthcare professionals up-to-date on
all aspect of pain management, PainBalance® will provide the latest
information on research, advances in treatment, issues on policy
and reimbursement, and other important news. To learn more about
the PainBalance® educational initiative, the high burden of
undertreated chronic pain, and to preview the tools and resources
available to healthcare professionals and others, visit
http://www.painbalance.org/. About King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc.
King, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, is a vertically
integrated branded pharmaceutical company. King, an S&P 500
Index company, seeks to capitalize on opportunities in the
pharmaceutical industry through the development, including through
in-licensing arrangements and acquisitions, of novel branded
prescription pharmaceutical products and technologies that
complement the Company's focus in specialty-driven markets,
particularly neuroscience and hospital. King's wholly owned
subsidiary, Alpharma Inc., is also a leader in the development,
registration, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products
for food-producing animals. References: 1. National Pain Survey,
Conducted for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, 1999. 2. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Fact Sheet:
General Information and National Estimates on Diabetes in the
United States, 2005. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2005. 3. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly:
Prevalence of Heart Disease. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2007.
4. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: United States.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
Updated March 20, 2008. Accessed January 14, 2010. 5. National
Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2004.
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2004/results_merged/topic_prevcounts.pd
f. Published 2007. Accessed January 14, 2010. 6. National
Institutes of Health. NIH Guide: New Directions in Pain Research I.
September 4, 1998. Available from
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-98-102.html. Related
links: http://www.kingpharm.com/ EXECUTIVE OFFICES KING
PHARMACEUTICALS®, INC. 501 FIFTH STREET, BRISTOL, TN 37620
Copyright © 2010 King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. All rights reserved.
02/2010 Contacts: Investors: Jack Howarth, Vice President, Investor
Relations 908-429-8350 Media Contact: Laurie Masonson, Ruder Finn,
Inc. 212-583-2793 DATASOURCE: King Pharmaceuticals(R), Inc.
CONTACT: Investors: Jack Howarth, Vice President, Investor
Relations, +1-908-429-8350, or Media Contact: Laurie Masonson,
Ruder Finn, Inc. +1-212-583-2793 Web Site:
http://www.kingpharm.com/
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