Tag: pain

Rethinking Pain Management: 4 Options to Consider

Editor’s note: As the opioid epidemic rages on, we need to rethink how pain is managed. Guidelines aimed at reducing the number of opioids prescribed has had an unintended consequence.

As the opioid epidemic rages on, we need to rethink how pain is managed. Guidelines aimed at reducing the number of opioids prescribed has had an unintended consequence. In the article, “Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say,” the NY Times reports:

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Use of PCA Safety Checklist Found to Reduce Pain

Researchers at the University of Colorado Hospital recently reported that their use of a PCA safety checklist was found to reduce pain from moderate-severe pain to no-mild pain in 42% of patients within 2 days. In “Let’s Be Smart About Improving Pain,” they reported:

Our PCA safety checklist smart phrases increased use of a safety checklist and documentation of daily PCA opioid trends, and correlated with more rapid improvement in moderate-severe pain levels.

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The Problem of Pain

By Kenny Lin, MD, MPH

My patients lie to me every day. Some tell me that they have been taking their medications regularly when they haven’t. Some say that they have been eating a healthy diet and exercising for at least 30 minutes every day and don’t know where the extra pounds are coming from. Some lie that they are using condoms every time they have sex, that they have quit smoking, and if they drink alcohol at all, it’s only a single glass of wine with dinner. They bend the truth for many reasons: because they want to please their doctor, because they don’t like to admit lapses of willpower, or because they are embarrassed to tell me that they can’t afford to pay for their medications. I forgive them; it’s part of my job to understand that patients (and health professionals) are only human. The only lies that I find hard to forgive are the lies about pain. Continue reading “The Problem of Pain” →