An interdisciplinary team of health care professionals from Akron General Medical Center will perform institutional needs assessments, collect medical record data, interview patients, and develop and implement a quality improvement work plan over the course of the 18-month project timeline. All of the participating hospitals were provided with a comprehensive manual, which includes more than 100 tools and other resources to assist hospitals in institutionalizing pain management. While the project focuses on acute post-operative pain, the resources and implementation process can be adapted to populations in any healthcare setting. The project should also help hospitals prepare for new pain assessment and management standards from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations that take effect on January 1, 2001. The unprecedented standards will require all hospitals that are Joint Commission accredited to identify, assess and, if necessary, treat pain in all patients.
Unrelieved pain is a major health care problem in the United States.
Fifty million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and each year another 25 million experience acute pain as a result of injuries or surgeries. Yet, much of the pain for which people seek care goes undertreated. Four out of ten people with moderate to severe chronic pain do not receive adequate relief, and only one in four of the millions of people who have surgery have their pain adequately relieved. All rights reserved.