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Paying for new pain relief ideas

Though awareness and changes in the law have resulted in a shift away from legally prescribed opiates as the primary factor in our current substance abuse crisis, they remain a concern.

“Historically, for up to three decades, the opioid crisis was being driven by prescription medications being provided for pain, including post-surgical pain, strains and work injuries,” Dr. Patrick Ensminger, a Trumbull County chiropractor who is chairman of the Ohio State Chiropractic Association Opioid Task Force, said.

With that in mind, companies have been competing as part of an Ohio Third Frontier Commission project to find new technological solutions to help those who suffer from pain find relief without opiates. Among ideas that rose to the top last year was Innovative Medical Equipment, which is developing a ThermaZone device that provides heating and cooling thermal therapy primarily to patients recovering from orthopedic surgery.

Among the challenges in getting traction for any kind of technological solution is hoping “insurance companies will recognize that approximately $500 to $600 is a lot cheaper than paying for drugs and paying for treatment for someone who” becomes addicted, according to IME President Brad Pulver.

Indeed, insurance companies are slow to accept — that is, pay for — alternative means of pain management, including technological devices, chiropractic care, massage therapy, acupuncture and even other varieties of medications.

Ohio was right to launch the Third Frontier Commission’s search for solutions. But soon, it will be up to doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to keep those good ideas from dying on the vine.

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