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Phone: 02 8217 8700 | Fax: 02 9211 7578 | email: info@nps.org.au | web: www.nps.org.au
MEDIA RELEASE
3
December 2009
New pain management diary for Australians with arthritis
More than 3.85 million Australians experience pain caused by arthritis and many are not achieving
adequate pain relief with their current medicine regimen. Research conducted by Arthritis NSW earlier
this year revealed many people are over-using general analgesics to relieve break-through pain,
which can result in further health complications.
To help people work with their doctors to determine the best pain management treatments for them,
Arthritis NSW and the National Prescribing Service (NPS) have developed a pain management diary
in which people can record detailed information about the type and nature of pain they are feeling.
“Many people can live well with their arthritis if they can manage their pain,” Arthritis NSW CEO Karen
Filocamo said.
“Some people also experience break-through pain and try to manage it themselves with low dose
analgesics and may not think to discuss this with their doctor.”
“The pain management diary is very detailed. It has space to record the person’s mood, sleep and
physical activity as well as the steps taken to alleviate the pain and whether they worked. These
things all need to be considered in discussion with a health professional when developing an effective
pain management plan,” Mrs Filocamo said.
NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said the diary will help patient/ doctor communication and enable people
to take a more active role in their own health management.
“Describing chronic pain can be very difficult,” Dr Weekes said.
“Having a written record helps health professionals understand the individual’s whole pain experience
and enables the patient and doctor to develop the most appropriate treatment plan. The diary will
empower people to take better control of their health and will lead to more effective use of pain relief
medicines.”
“As part of our commitment to providing resources to culturally and linguistically diverse audiences a
summarised version of the resource is also available in Chinese, as there a large number of Chinese
Australians who are affected by arthritis,” Dr Weekes said.
Arthritis NSW toll free on 1800 011 041.
ENDS
Media enquiries to:
Katie Butt, NPS Media Adviser, 02 8217 8667 or kbutt@nps.org.au
Tina Bertsos, Arthritis NSW Marketing and Fundraising Officer, 02 9857 3320 or
tbertsos@arthritisnsw.org.au
The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation for
quality use of medicines funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
NEWS 
