The My Pain Assessment Communication Tool (MPaCT) is a newly launched, patient‑led innovation designed to transform how chronic pain is communicated between patients and healthcare providers. Co‑designed collaboratively by Dragon Claw Charity (now My Flare Up) and Painaustralia, and formally launched in March 2026 at Parliament House, the tool addresses a long‑recognised problem: the traditional 1–10 pain scale does not capture the real, lived impact of chronic pain.

MPaCT shifts the conversation away from numerical scoring and toward documenting what truly matters—how pain affects daily life, work, relationships, sleep, mood, and overall function. Built with extensive consumer input from Australia, Canada, and beyond, the tool provides a structured framework that empowers people with chronic pain to articulate the personal, practical, and professional consequences of their symptoms.

During this session, Dr Charmaine Jones, one of the tool’s co‑developers and a leading voice in patient‑centred pain reform, will walk participants through:

• The limitations of traditional pain scales
• How MPaCT works as an interactive, patient‑led assessment tool
• How to use MPaCT in clinical appointments to support clearer, more effective communication
• Why documenting the impact of pain leads to better shared decision‑making and care planning

The session will highlight how MPaCT empowers people with autoimmune inflammatory diseases and other chronic pain conditions to be seen, heard, and better supported in healthcare settings.Dr Charmaine Jones, MD (AOA), is a retired palliative medicine physician and a long‑standing patient advocate specialising in autoimmune inflammatory conditions and chronic pain. She serves as a Director of Dragon Claw (now trading as My Flare Up), an international patient‑led organisation supporting people living with autoimmune diseases. In this role, she has co‑led major consumer‑driven innovations, including the development of the My Pain Assessment Communication Tool (MPaCT), a groundbreaking, interactive tool designed by patients for patients to support better communication with clinicians.

Dr Jones brings deep lived experience, decades of clinical insight, and a strong commitment to shared decision‑making in healthcare. She has been an invited speaker at international forums—including the Global Remission Coalition Asia‑Pacific Meeting in Japan—and is a key contributor to Dragon Talks, a community education series for people living with autoimmune disease. As a passionate advocate, she champions patient voice, early intervention, and the practical tools needed to restore agency and improve quality of life for those living with chronic illness.