Pain management and health care policy.

Opioid analgesics are essential for the management of moderate to severe pain. In spite of their documented effectiveness, opioids are often underutilized, a factor which has contributed significantly to the undertreatment of pain. Many countries have developed true national policies on cancer pain and palliative care, and in others only guidelines for care have been developed. Ideally, national policies facilitate and legislate not only a patient's right to care, but also the necessary components of education and drug availability which are so critical for the appropriate achievement of public health programs.