Helping Those In Need

For most people with CRPS/RSD ketamine is the only treatment that reduces our pain.  Opioids actually make us more sensitive to pain.

Right now, I am circulating a petition that I will hand deliver to the FDA this spring.

http://signon.org/sign/fda-approval-for-ketamine.fb23?source=c.fb.ty&r_by=6720555

My hope is that if the FDA approves Ketamine for the treatment of CRPS/RSD and changes the classification to class 3 from a class one medication, then we will be able to convince insurance companies to reimburse physicians who treat with ketamine for CRPS/RSD an amount of money that allows them to accept insurance.  Ketamine is an inexpensive drug.  That is not the issue.  The infusion of Ketamine requires monitoring: heart monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring and a nurse to watch over the patient.  For small practices the near $340 that Medicare pays, the $95 that Blue Cross pays doesn't come near to covering the salary of a nurse let alone the purchase of the monitoring equipment.  It is for this reason, physicians charge from $500 to $2,500 per infusion.  They collect directly from the patient.

There are larger practices who can treat 10 or more patients at one time with Ketamine infusions using one nurse to oversee them all.  For these larger practices, the larger number of patients being treated at the same time can survive on insurance reimbursement.  There are very few practices that are able to do this.

This leaves most CRPS/RSD patients paying thousands of dollars for treatment of their chronic pain.  Most are on a fixed income such as workman's compensation or social security disability.  They can not afford to spend this amount of money for treatment.

CRPS Partners In Pain, a non profit entity, is raising money to offer scholarships to people with CRPS/RSD in financial need to cover their treatments.  We need people to help with fundraising, to make items that can be sold to raise money and to donate a tax deductible donation.  We need this to go viral.  We need people to share this with all of their family and friends.

www.crpspartnersinain.com is a way that you can donate to help those of us who can't afford treatment.  Please pass this along to all of your friends and family and help us make a difference in the lives of those confined to bed due to their excruciating CRPS pain.

I hope that you will take a minute to donate and to pass this message on.

Nancy