Pain continues. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Social pain. Spiritual
pain. The pharmaceutical industry produces more and more pills.
As a health care professional one would observe that the pharmaceutical
reps are often the most visible people in the hospital. More pills.
More cost. Pain continues.
Koenig introduces pain under the umbrella of chronicity. It
is one of the tragic downfalls of modern medicine. People hurt.
We often fear "making addicts" (yes, there are still
physicians who believe that) out of patients so we back off from
effective pain control. These are huge issues medically, socially,
financially, morally and, yes, spiritually.
This carefully researched study talks about the need for management
of chronic pain and does it through a more careful and thorough
approach ... the real interaction between the physical, the emotional
and the spiritual. It is easy to prescribe. It is harder to listen
and discern. This book will be a significant contributor, addressing
different types of pain, settings where we meet people (hospitals,
long term care, etc.), social issues, the complexities of medical
needs in a troubled industry, and the spiritual pathway (and,
yes, pain) woven through it all.
