The OPI provides comprehensive education on pain management to Ohio’s health care professionals, using a multi-disciplinary approach through seminars and publications with input from representatives from several Ohio agencies, health care organizations, associations, and health care academia. The need and demand for this education continues to be great.

The Ohio Pain Initiative (formerly the Ohio Cancer Pain Initiative) officially commenced operations on January 2, 1991, after more than three years of planning and organization by an interdisciplinary group of health professionals and community leaders...becoming the 17th state cancer pain initiative. The OPI was modeled after the Wisconsin Cancer Pain Initiative, the first state initiative and a World Health Organization demonstration program.

The name of the organization was officially changed in 1999 to broaden its mission in helping to improve the management of pain by health professionals regardless of its cause. Today the OPI is one of over 50 state pain initiatives. A pain initiative is especially crucial for Ohioans since Ohio ranks sixth highest in the nation for cancer incidence, and thus cancer pain.

The Board of Trustees of the Ohio Pain Initiative is a multi-disciplinary group of health care professionals elected by the membership and who strongly support the belief that education is the key to the effective management of pain.

In addition the OPI issues press releases and letters to-the editor in Ohio newspapers and health care publications to increase awareness of the problem. OPI president Warren Wheeler MD was instrumental in helping Representative E. J.Thomas draft HB 343 (enacted in April 1994) and HB 187 (enacted October 1997). HB 343 provided physicians with greater ability and protection to judiciously prescribe more aggressive pain treatment for persons who are terminally ill. HB 187 allowed physicians to prescribed controlled substances on a protracted basis for chronic non-malignant pain.

OPI Endorsements