When the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report on chronic pain late last month, medical device makers cheered. “A landmark report,” a Boston Scientific press release gushed. “Chronic pain is a major public health issue, and we applaud Congress [and] the IOM…for their thoughtful recommendations,” Medtronic senior vice president Tom Tefft said in a statement. Mandated by President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the IOM report laid out ways for the country to improve research and treatment of chronic pain, a condition that affects 116 million Americans.
