Published on: March 5, 2015

We are very pleased to see the editorial written by Dr. Vijay Thawani, Professor of Pharmacology from Uttarakhand. Medical students learn the basics of therapeutics from their pharmacology professors. Unfortunately, the MBBS curriculum has not been revised yet to include modern principles of pain assessment and management, and hence, our colleagues in Pharmacology are in a great position to change mindsets of budding doctors. Thank you, Prof Vijay Thawani.

We might add that access to pain relief should not be limited to terminally ill patients. An individual’s pain experience can be beyond the powers of imagination of someone who has not experienced it. We have repeatedly found that even a day of agonising pain can drive a person to suicide. Naturally, precautions are necessary to prevent abuse and diversion to illicit sources; but having said that, pain, whether acute or chronic, must be treated properly.