Sourcebook : 3.1 Preventing, assessing, and treating pain

• Introduction
• Use of Analgesics by Nursing Facility Residents with Cancer
• Current, Best, and Optimal Practices
• Case Study: St. Mary's Health Center
• Defining and Talking About Pain
• Define Patient and Provider Rights and Responsibilities
• Standardize Pain Assessment Protocols
• Use Culturally Appropriate Pain Assessment Methods
• Use Pain Assessment Tools In Translation
• Give Patients A Frame of Reference
• Make Pain A Fifth Vital Sign
• Use Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Do Clinical Practice Guidelines Improve Care?
• Make Pain Management an Institutional Priority
• Set Pain Control Standards
• Develop Follow-up Procedures
• Try a range of innovations
• Require certain providers to be registered to prescribe controlled substances
• Review prescribing practices for opioid drugs
• Improving pain management in nursing homes and assisted living facilities
• American Geriatrics Society statement of principles
• Summary of key pain issues

This text is derived from the book Improving Care for the End of Life : A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians.