Inadequate pain management: myth, stigma and professional fear.

The ability to effectively relieve pain has been available to health professionals for generations. It should be a primary concern in treating patients but is still often given a low priority or ignored completely. Apathy toward the suffering experienced may be mixed with a fear of the use of the common analgesics. Our own prejudices and ignorance can also contribute. Failures in the primary education of health professionals may be the single most important cause and the identity of the remedy. Raising the profile of pain as an essential educational topic and, more broadly, realising that this is a major public health matter are the way forward.