HHS Issues Call for Comments on Pain Task Force Report
HHS Calls for Comments on Pain Task Force Report – Take This Opportunity to Comment on the Massage Portion
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through an Inter-Agency Task Force, has published a draft report on pain management best practices. This draft calls for individualized, patient-centered pain management, and it includes recommendations related to massage therapy.
AMTA continues to be actively engaged with several organizations, as well as federal and state governmental agencies regarding massage therapy for pain and specifically as an alternative to opioids. As part of the efforts, AMTA has been actively engaged with HHS and the Task Force to work toward massage therapy’s inclusion as part of the recommendations. This has included direct meetings with the chair of the Task Force and other stakeholder groups. The association will soon offer its comments on the report recommendations.
AMTA encourages those massage therapists engaged in healthcare and those with an interest in providing massage therapy in collaboration with healthcare facilities and insurance to comment on the massage therapy portions of the draft guidelines. All comments must be received by the deadline of April 1, 2019.