[Pain management in view of current new legislative updates and their practical consequences in Austria]

Although the WHO edited guidelines for pain treatment as early as 1986, practical management has frequently remained inadequate, especially in cancer patients. Traditional adherence to restrictions from the former Austrian Controlled Drug Act which have resulted in ongoing limitations in the prescription of opioids as well as complicated formal regulations in the current law represent two major obstacles. As a consequence, recent legislation of a "state of the art" pain management in Austria facilitates adequate provision of analgesics on the one hand, and may, on the other, even result in claims for indemnity should these be withhold.