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On October 3, 2018 the Senate passed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioids Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6), sending the bill the President Trump to be signed into law. The SUPPORT Act is wide-ranging legislation to address the opioid epidemic and includes multiple provisions focused on access to non-pharmacological pain management treatments, including OT.

The following video provides more details about how the legislation opens new opportunities for occupational therapy in pain management and will provide better access to non-pharmacological, inter-disciplinary treatments for pain.



Here are more resources related to the legislation and OT's role in pain management:

AOTA summary of the bill and its provisions related to OT.
Section-by-section analysis of the bill from Congress.
AOTA Fact Sheet on OT and Pain Rehabilitation

AOTA will continue to follow the implementation of this bill. If you currently work in pain rehabilitation, or have worked to reduce the use of opioids in acute care or rehabilitation settings let us know at FAD@aota.org!

#PublicAffairs #FederalAffairs #Opioids #ChronicPain #PainManagement #SUPPORTAct​​​​​​​