The Joint Commission has issued the following statement on pain management, and addressed common misconceptions regarding related Joint Commission requirements:
In the environment of today’s prescription opioid epidemic, everyone is looking for someone to blame. Often, The Joint Commission’s pain standards take that blame. We are encouraging our critics to look at our exact standards, along with the historical context of our standards, to fully understand what our accredited organizations are required to do with regard to pain.
The Joint Commission first established standards for pain assessment and treatment in 2001 in response to the national outcry about the widespread problem of undertreatment of pain. The Joint Commission’s current standards require that organizations establish policies regarding pain assessment and treatment and conduct educational efforts to ensure compliance. The standards DO NOT require the use of drugs to manage a patient’s pain; and when a drug is appropriate, the standards do not specify which drug should be prescribed.
Our foundational standards are quite simple. They are:
- The hospital educates all licensed independent practitioners on assessing and managing pain.
- The hospital respects the patient’s right to pain management.
- The hospital assesses and manages the patient’s pain.
Requirements for what should be addressed in organizations’ policies include: Continue reading
HNX Healthcare Update 