People who are sick and suffering should not feel stigmatized by their pain or embarrassed to tell doctors and nurses exactly how bad their pain is. John Wayne is not the best role model. Good ethical and medical practice requires that doctors and nurses ask about pain as often as they take your pulse or blood pressure. Patients need to give them information they can use to help. In 2001, medical facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes, that are accredited by the Joint Commission on Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) must meet new standards for pain assessment and management.
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