Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Even nonaccredited nursing facilities can  benefit from the Joint Commission on Accreditation  of Healthcare Organizations’ pain standards,  which serve as a blueprint for a pain  management program. JCAHO requires facilities  to not only evaluate the effectiveness of individual interventions in relieving a resident’s pain, but also the overall program. The standards call on long-term care facilities to use the following strategies.

• Recognize the right of residents to appropriate assessment and management of pain.
• Assess the existence and, if so, the nature and intensity of pain in all residents.
• Record the assessment’s results in a way that facilitates regular reassessment and follow-up.
• Determine and assure staff competency in pain assessment and management and address these topics during staff orientation.
• Establish policies and procedures that support the appropriate prescription or ordering of effective pain medications.
• Educate residents and their families about effective pain management.
• Assess resident needs for pain symptom management as part of the discharge planning process.