Boston Scientific Welcomes Passage of Federal Pain Care Legislation to Benefit Military Members an...( NATICK Mass. Oct. 29 /- Boston Sc...),Health

NATICK, Mass., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today welcomed passage of legislation to help active members of the U.S. armed forces and service veterans better manage the challenges of chronic pain.

The Military Pain Care Act of 2008 was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, recently passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The legislation, introduced by Representative Dave Loebsack of Iowa, requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement a pain care initiative in all military health care facilities. The intent is to help the military improve the health of active duty service members by developing a "best practices" approach to pain care management and evaluating the effectiveness of existing DOD pain care programs. Pain care management - for both acute and chronic pain - is a critical component of providing comprehensive health care for those who serve our country.

Congress also passed - and the President signed - the Veterans Pain Care Act, which establishes a comprehensive and integrated pain care initiative across the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health care system. This new law, introduced by Representative Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, will add resources to increase research, training and education on acute and chronic pain for VA personnel and their patients.

"Improving pain management is a crucial part of improving health care for our active military and our veterans," said Scott M. Fishman, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief, Division of Pain Medicine at the University of California, Davis. "Pain is a complex medical condition that can affect the physical and mental well being of mil
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