Reports on the prevalence of pain in our society are staggering. This is particularly true for seniors [1]. Data indicate that half of the people over the age of 65 are not functioning at their optimal level because of interference from pain [2–4]. In 1997, a telephone survey was reported as indicating that >50% of older adults had taken prescriptions of pain medication beyond a 6-month period and that 45% had seen at least three physicians for pain, in the prior 5 years [5]. For certain populations, the numbers are even more disconcerting. For example, in a nursing-home environment, estimates are that anywhere from half to 80% of residents have pain, with analgesics being used in 40–50% of residents [6–9]. Further analysis indicates that almost a quarter of patients with daily pain did not receive any analgesics [10]. Additionally, long-term care data indicate that over 40% of patients, who were known to have pain at an initial assessment, had worsening or severe pain at the time of the second assessment 2–6 months later [11]. Many of these seniors, including those with diseases recognized to have a strong association with pain, such as ­cancer, are inadequately or not treated at all with analgesics [12, 13]. Even dying patients can be expected to suffer persistent severe pain in the long-term care ­setting, at rates exceeding 40% [11].