PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

AAPM Welcomes Its 28th President:Martin Grabois, MDpme_1346 359..360

The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) ispleased to announce Martin Grabois, MD, as the Acad-emy’s 28th President. Dr. Grabois assumed his new posi-tion at AAPM’s Annual Meeting held last month in PalmSprings, CA. Dr. Grabois has recently served as the Acad-emy’s Vice President of Scientific Affairs and Chairman ofthe Strategic Planning Committee, among other numer-ous leadership positions throughout the past 30-plusyears. Currently, Dr. Grabois is Professor and Chairman ofthe Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitationat Baylor College of Medicine and Adjunct Professor ofthe Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitationat the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston.He has served as President of the American Academy ofPhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Association of Aca-demic Physiatrists, American Congress of RehabilitationMedicine, International Rehabilitation Medicine Associa-tion, American Pain Society, and the Foundation for Physi-cal Medicine and Rehabilitation. He has conducted over200 invited presentations worldwide and are publishedwidely including editor or coeditor of books, book chap-ters, publications in peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, andproceedings.

Embracing the Opportunity to CompleteOur Mission

I consider it a privilege to serve as the AAPM’s 28thPresident and at a time when Pain Medicine has beenbrought to the forefront of our nation. As we all are aware,the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report brought atten-tion to the public health crisis of pain and called formajor changes in pain research, care, education, andtreatment—all areas the Academy has invested time andresources into for the past 28 years. The Academyapplauded the IOM report and as our Immediate PastPresident Perry G. Fine, MD, said, “the recently releasedIOM report on pain advocates from many of the axiomswe have embraced . . . and affords us the opportunity tocomplete our mission to eliminate the major public healthproblem of pain by advancing the practice and specialty ofPain Medicine.”

The IOM report recommends the development of strate-gies for reducing barriers to pain care and supportingcollaboration between pain specialists and primary careclinicians. This directly correlates with AAPM’s goal toexpand its education offerings in the areas of content,learners, and format in a way that reinforces AAPM’smission. This past year, AAPM underwent a formal reac-

creditation process before the Accreditation Council forContinuing Medical Education (ACCME) and is pleased toannounce that the Academy received “Accreditation withCommendation,” the highest level of reaccreditation avail-able from ACCME. While “Accreditation” is the norm,providing for a 4-year term, “Accreditation with Commen-dation” provides the Academy with a 6-year term beforeits next reaccreditation. This is an important achievementas it positions AAPM as a leader in medical education.

AAPM also introduced its Safe Opioid Prescribing Coursefor primary care providers (PCPs) and mid-level prescrib-ers that ran concurrently with the Annual Meeting held lastmonth. In fact, AAPM identified that safe pain manage-ment is one of the top five concerns among PCPs, andaccording to the IOM report, PCPs play a critical role intreating patients suffering from chronic pain. The courseoffered outstanding education taught by leading scientistsand clinician experts in pain.

The Academy will continue to pursue recognition of PainMedicine as a primary medical specialty within the Ameri-can Board of Medical Specialties. This year, AAPM willpersist in its endeavors to advocate for and developpatient-oriented pain research and scholarship to advancescientific knowledge and translate that knowledge intosafe and effective therapies for patients with pain. Theobjectives we have set forth for the coming year include:provide financial support to residents, fellows, and juniorinvestigators receiving training in scientific methods andresearch techniques; provide research project fundingsupport; and increase participation in pain managementdata repositories.

The Academy will continue to focus on advancing policy inpain care. In 2011, AAPM recognized several members ofthe United States Army for their extraordinary leadership indeveloping pain services in the military, including theDefense Veterans Pain Management and Initiative andthe Army Pain Management Task Force. This year, we hadthe privilege of honoring a celebrated list of recipientsranging from the Director and the Senior Policy Advisor ofthe Office of National Drug Control Policy, two Senatorsfocused on fighting prescription drug abuse, and our ownleaders AAPM Past President (2008), Kenneth A. Follett,MD, PhD, and AAPM Vice President for Scientific Affairs,Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, for their service on the Institute ofMedicine Pain Committee. The Academy also recognizedJerome Schofferman, MD, for his principled efforts toadvocate for the highest ethical standards within the

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AAPM, and Lynn R. Webster, MD, for his commitment toexcellence in education.

Again, it is an honor to serve as the Academy’s 28thPresident. Over the past decades, AAPM members havebeen and will continue to be leaders in education,research, and advocacy in the emerging areas of thescience of Pain Medicine. I look forward to working with

the Board of Directors and other AAPM leaders, and tocontinue with Dr. Fine’s charge: “This Is Our Time!”

MARTIN GRABOIS, MDPresident, American Academy of Pain Medicine,

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,Baylor College of Medicine,

Houston, Texas

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