Abstract

For over a decade, a law has been in place in Italy that protects patients from experiencing chronic pain, making the prescription of opioid drugs less cumbersome. This new regulation has radically changed the way in which pain is managed and treated in hospitals and outpatient institutions. However, despite the new rules, pain medicine specialists state that the number of opioid prescriptions has changed only slightly. The considerable efforts made by scientific societies and institutions up to now have failed to create a culture of pain medicine awareness among Italians, especially when it comes to non-cancer or non-end-of-life pain. In this commentary, we argue that a more suitable solution requires greater interaction between these two concepts: pain medicine and rehabilitation.

Keywords: Chronic pain; Opioid prescription; Opioids, Pain medicine; Physiotherapy; Rehabilitation;