In Colorado EDs, ‘Alternative to Opioids’ Pilot Project Exceeds Goals

Ashley Copeland talks to her mother in the Swedish Medical Center ED. Copeland was treated for a severe headache with a nerve-blocking anesthetic, but no opioids. (John Daley/CPR News)

Last year, in an effort to address the state’s acute opioid abuse problem, several Colorado health care organizations—including the Colorado Emergency Nurses Association—worked together on an intervention to target patients admitted to the ED with pain. The plan? Implement a pain management program to promote alternative strategies, with a goal of decreasing opioid usage by 15% in the participating EDs.

As discussed in a June news article, the program, which was piloted in 10 hospitals and involved heavy involvement from nurses, surpassed its goal: opioid usage during the intervention period (as measured in morphine equivalent units) was 36% less than in the previous year.

The […]

2018-06-14T09:29:35-04:00June 14th, 2018|Nursing, patient experience|1 Comment

A Closer Look at the Joint Commission’s New Guidelines for Pain Assessment and Management

Photo © Burger / Phanie / Science Photo Library.

Starting on January 1, 2018, the Joint Commission’s new and revised pain assessment and management standards for accredited hospitals will go into effect. Notably, the guidelines—as we report in a November news article—address safe opioid prescribing practices.

Among new requirements, the Joint Commission says hospitals should:

  • Designate a leader or team responsible for pain management and safe opioid prescribing.
  • Include patients in developing a pain management treatment plan—including realistic expectations and measurable goals—and educate them on discharge plans related to opioid adverse effects and safe use, storage, and disposal of opioids.
  • Use prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) databases to identify patients at risk for opioid addiction.
  • Identify opioid addiction treatment programs for patient referrals.
  • Inform staff about consultation and referral services available for patients with complex pain management needs.
  • Collect and analyze data on pain assessment and management to identify areas in which safety and quality could be improved.

The full list of new and revised guidelines is available here. How might these changes affect life for nurses and patients? Comments are welcome below.

‘I’m Worried About People in Pain’: A Nurse’s Take on Opioid-Prescribing Regulation Changes

by frankieleon/ via flickr by frankieleon/ via flickr

Many patients and clinicians have strong feelings about opioids: they’ve seen a loved one denied adequate pain control, or they’ve seen a family member or friend’s son or daughter lost to prescription pill and/or heroin addiction, or they’ve worked in an ED with too many drug-seeking patients, or they’ve seen a patient in terrible pain waiting for a new analgesic order from an unavailable or uncompassionate physician.

But feelings don’t solve complex problems, and an excessively punitive or permissive approach can do more damage than good. Recently, there have been almost daily headlines and policy recommendations about the importance of restricting opioid-prescribing practices. The trend is alarming a number of clinicians with expertise in working with patients in pain. Clinical nurse specialist and pain management consultant Carol Curtiss addresses what’s at stake in “I’m Worried About People in Pain,” the Viewpoint essay in the January issue of AJN:

According to a 2011 Institute of Medicine report, chronic pain is a public health crisis . . . Well-intended efforts to address prescription drug abuse—another public health crisis—may place heavy burdens on people with pain who benefit from opioids and use them responsibly as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. . . . Gains made in pain treatment are at risk. New regulations threaten […]

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