In 2009, SIP started with the main goal to tackle the burden of chronic pain in society. A SIP Steering Committee meeting took place on the 5th of October 2009 in Brussels.

The main objective of this meeting was to create a realistic program for the 2010 symposium on the "Societal Impact of Pain" attractive to statutory health care authorities, budget holders and legislators on pain throughout Europe.

As various prominent members and experts from different EU countries will participate in the program steering committee we aim to gain practical and applicable knowledge on what "sharing best practices" in managing the "societal impact of pain" on a international platform looks like from a statutory health care perspective.

The first SIP Steering Committee discussed the following important topics:

1. The Pan-European thing
2. Pain and budget
3. Access to pain treatments
4. Developments in pain treatment
5. The role of the patient & consumer
6. Options for decision makers in:

• Quality of life (Qol), Quality outcomes of pain treatments
• Patient access
• Budget Management