PASTOR/PROMIS^® Pain Outcomes System: What does it Mean to Pain Specialists?

SUMMARY 

The Army Pain Management Task Force was charged with recommending pain management strategies for Army Medical Command that would optimize quality of life for patients living with acute and chronic pain. Among their recommendations was the development of the Pain Assessment Screening Tool and Outcomes Registry (PASTOR). In order to develop this tool, the Pain Management Task Force leveraged the NIH’s investment in building the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS^®). The two foci of PASTOR are to enhance the clinical encounter and provide data for comprehensive evaluations of treatment effectiveness. The potential of such information for the future of clinical management is described.

KEYWORDS:

• chronic pain
• comparative effectiveness research
• outcomes registry
• pain management
• patient-reported outcomes

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Our team is comprised partly of military service members and employees of the US Government. This work was prepared as part of our official duties. Title 17 U.S.C. 105 provides that “Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the US Government.” Title 17 U.S.C. 101 defines a US Government work as a work prepared by a military service member or employee of the US Government as part of that person’s official duties.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, the US Government.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by institutional funding and the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management. The work discussed was supported by funding from the US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), W81XWH-12-2-0133 (Principal Investigator: C Buckenmaier). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by institutional funding and the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management. The work discussed was supported by funding from the US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), W81XWH-12-2-0133 (Principal Investigator: C Buckenmaier). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.