{"title":"Meeting the JCAHO Challenge for Improving Pain Management: The Cedars-Sinai Approach","authors":"Diana Jou, R. Shane","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N03_03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N03_03","url":null,"abstract":"The federal Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research (AHCPR) published clinical practice guidelines on acute pain management in 1992 and cancer pain management in 1994. In 1998, the American Geriatrics Society published guidelines on the management of chronic pain in the growing elderly population. The fact that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has since developed and implemented standards for pain management further underscores and institutionalizes the importance of appropriate pain management in healthcare. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, a Pain Management Steering Committee was convened in 1998 to meet the challenge of improving pain management within the health system. New policies and procedures were developed and implemented which support the appropriate care of patients with pain. A vigorous clinician education campaign was implemented to decrease common misconceptions about opioid use and to promote around-the-clock pain assessment and new pain medication use guidelines discouraging the routine use of meperidine and the intramuscular route of opioid administration. A clinician education toolbox consisting of pocket pain reference guides, self-assessment surveys, “dear doctor” letters. Ongoing data collection on performance improvement in pain management reflected notable changes in physician prescribing habits and awareness of pain management as a “fifth vital sign.” Success in improving pain management practices at our institution is attributable to multiple factors, including the participation of a physician champion, a pain management specialist, a multidisciplinary task force, clinical leadership, and a step-wise approach to implementation of policy changes. Ongoing efforts to meet the JCAHO standards on pain management in the continuum of care are currently in progress.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117133992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Medicare's Hospice Benefit: Use and Expenditures","authors":"B. Gage, Thy Dao","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N01_06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N01_06","url":null,"abstract":"The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) commissioned this Medicare Hospice Benefit study to provide information on the role of the Medicare hospice benefit and more specific information about how end of life care is provided to institutionalized beneficiaries. This report presents information on Medicare's hospice benefit, who is using it, how it is being used, what costs are associated with its use, what costs precede hospice enrollment and how these vary by type of enrollee. This information will be important for understanding the role of Medicare's hospice benefit in the context of the other benefits Medicare provides to one of the program's most expensive populations, the terminally ill, and understanding whether the current policies meet the needs of the population enrolling in hospice. Also included are snapshot contrasts of two groups of enrollees, those who were enrolled in HMOs or on Medicaid at least once during the 12 months between July 1995 and July 1996. This report is intended to provide background information on the overall Medicare hospice population. The office of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) initiated this study to better understand the use of hospice by dually-covered hospice enrollees in nursing facilities and this report provides the contrast for the nursing facility-based enrollee discussed in the two next reports in this study. Questions have been raised about whether hospice patients who live in nursing facilities are on the benefit for a longer time, receive different services, or otherwise use it differently than those residing in the community. This report describes the benefit's use by all enrollees in 1996.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122209543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developing and Implementing Pediatric Analgesia and Sedation Guidelines at San Francisco General Hospital","authors":"R. H. Levin, R. Dieckmann, J. Fazio, R. Nichols","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N01_03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N01_03","url":null,"abstract":"A Pediatric Analgesia and Sedation Subcommittee, under the auspices of the San Francisco General Hospital Department of Pediatrics, Quality Assurance Committee, was created and charged with the development of pediatric guidelines. Membership included all health care providers who treated children in all care areas of the hospital: pediatricians, emergency physicians, family practitioners, neurologists, surgeons, intensivists, anesthesiologists, registered nurses, and pharmacists. Guiding principles were that the pediatric pain and sedation guidelines would be effective, easy to employ, based on well-accepted medications, and be child friendly. The focus was to develop analgesia and sedation guidelines for patients undergoing a wide range of medical and surgical procedures. The subcommittee then constructed a series of tables with the appropriate management strategies (including specific medications, doses and delivery routes) for pediatric orthopedic, surgical, and diagnostic procedures, and for sickle cell pain crisis. A detailed account of the implementation of these guidelines is also presented.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114820079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Patient Preferences in End-of-Life Care","authors":"P. Fine","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N03_07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N03_07","url":null,"abstract":"Many patients do not indicate preferences for the types of care they will receive as they approach death, but even when such preferences are explicitly expressed, the patient's wishes often are not honored. This commentary reviews two recent publications on this topic and comments on it. Honoring patient's wishes regarding symptom control, resuscitation and other aspects of their end of life care should become a priority.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115255221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Defining Hospice and Palliative Care","authors":"A. Lipman","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N01_01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N01_01","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126267385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinically Important Meperidine Toxicities","authors":"Caroline A. Chalverus","doi":"10.1300/J088v09n03_04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088v09n03_04","url":null,"abstract":"The pharmacokinetics, metabolism, alleged adverse effects and evidence on adverse effects of meperidine are compared to those of other commonly used opioids. Comparative effects of meperidine and other opioids on respiratory depression, spasmogenicity, newborns when the drugs are used in labor and delivery and neurological status are discussed. Anecdotal reports of fewer side effects of meperidine as compared to morphine and other opioids may be due to comparison of non-equivalent doses in some cases. Some evidence that indicates differences between meperidine and other opioids does not indicate clinically important differences. Alternative medications to meperidine are suggested for cases when such alternatives may be desired.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126696691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing Undertreatment of Pain: The Patients' Perspectives","authors":"H. Lazarus, Christopher Neumann","doi":"10.1300/J088V09N04_02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088V09N04_02","url":null,"abstract":"The undertreatment of pain is a major health issue in the United States, with children, elderly, and minorities at risk. An in-depth interview survey was conducted of 1,000 persons living at home with pain due to a medical condition to assess their attitudes toward pain, medications, and their doctors, as well as to identify the size and scope of undertreatment. Sixty-one percent have experienced pain for at least five years. For 40% of these patients the pain is constant; for 60%, intermittent; for 49%, moderate; for 22%, severe. Ninety percent have seen a physician; 67% are presently under a doctor's care; 86% see the same clinician for the pain and its cause; 50% see a general practitioner or family physician (GP/FP); only 13% have seen a pain specialist. Twenty-one percent have been scored on a pain scale; in half (49%) of those who were scored, a numeric scale was used; a verbal scale was used in 22%. Forty-two percent say their prescription analgesic is less than very effective; 67% indicated that their daily lives have been altered by pain; 51% say they cannot remember what it feels like not to be in pain.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130713055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"NEWS AND INNOVATIONS","authors":"","doi":"10.1300/J088v09n04_10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088v09n04_10","url":null,"abstract":"An Alameda County, California jury ruled on June 13, 2001, that a physician was guilty of elder abuse for failing to give a dying man sufficient medication to relieve his suffering. The Hayward, California jury ruled that Dr. Wing Chin must pay $1.5 million to the children of William Bergman, who died of lung cancer in 1998 at the age of 85. This is the first time that a jury has found a physician guilty of elder abuse for under-treatment of pain. More information on the case and a commentary on its implication will appear in the next issue of the Journal.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"37 7","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132388428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
North Carolina Boards of Medicine, Nursing, and Ph
{"title":"North Carolina Licensing Boards Joint Statement on Pain Management in End-of-Life Care","authors":"North Carolina Boards of Medicine, Nursing, and Ph","doi":"10.1300/J088v09n02_04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088v09n02_04","url":null,"abstract":"Through di a logue with mem bers of the healthcare com mu nity and con sum ers, a num ber of per ceived reg u la tory bar ri ers to ad e quate pain man age ment in end-of-life care have been ex pressed to the Boards of Med i cine, Nursing, and Phar macy. The fol low ing state ment at tempts to ad dress these misperceptions by out lin ing prac tice ex pec ta tions for phy si cians and other health care pro fes sion als au tho rized to pre scribe med i ca tions, as well as nurses and phar ma cists in volved in this as pect of end-of-life care. The state ment is based on:","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131321154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Report from the 19th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society","authors":"C. Chapman","doi":"10.1300/J088v09n02_05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1300/J088v09n02_05","url":null,"abstract":"The American Pain Society (APS) held its 19th Annual Scientific meeting in Atlanta, Georgia last November 2 through 5. Over 1,500 clinical and basic scientists, clinicians and others interested in the science and practice of pain management attended the meeting. The APS held a series of eight half-day professional development courses on the day before the meeting. The topics of these courses were chronic visceral pain, management of life threatening illnesses, motivating patients in pain rehabilitation, opioids in persistent noncancer pain, myofascial pain syndrome, the JCAHO pain standards, psychological aspects of pain care and complementary and alternative medicine in pain management. Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD, presented the keynote address, “Emotion, Consciousness and the Body in Pain,” Plenary presentations included Hypnosis and Pain, Advances and Future Directions in Local Anesthesia, Activity-Dependant Plasticity in Brain Stem Pain Modulatory Circuitry After Inflammation, Catastrophizing and Pain, Forebrain Mechanisms of Chronic Pain States and Neural Mechanism of Pain Modulation. The program also included twenty-seven full symposia, eight breakfast symposia, and six industry-supported educational events. A total of 858 poster presentations also took place at the meeting.","PeriodicalId":268184,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121645559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}