JCAHO Pain Control Standard…Michael Jackson?

In thinking about the questions surrounding Michael Jackson’s death and the alleged drug addiction, most are quick to point the finger at the physician. While the media is on a “war path” to find and to accuse, I wonder if any of the reporters consider that healthcare providers are required to assess and control a patient’s pain.

In a 2008 statement by the Joint Commission Accreditation Health Organization (JCAHO) stated, “Effective pain management is a crucial component of good health care, and treating pain is the responsibility of all caregivers.” Anyone who has worked the Emergency Room (ER) can tell you stories all night about patients complaining of pain…is it real or not? Pain is not necessarily something that can be objectively measured, rather it is subjectively conveyed by the patient to the physician.

So there you are…working in a hospital…abiding by the JCAHO guidelines and also weighing the possibility that the patient is a “drug seeking” addict. Some might argue severe pain can result from drug addiction withdrawal.

Then of course on those occasions that drug seeking patients who are denied drugs in the ER…they often call hospital administration, state department of health, etc…. accusing the hospital, nurses, and/or physicians of poor care. Meanwhile, innocent healthcare providers are left to defend themselves against the “hearsay” of the addict.

In patient satisfaction surveys, patients are asked, “Was your pain controlled?” The patient has the ability to rate the hospital and the physician lower if they believe their pain was not controlled. Let’s be realistic what situations involving emergency treatment or hospitalization are supposed to be painless? Therein lies the problem…pain control versus painless.

Most patients want to be painless and lest us not forget JCAHO who is standing right behind the patient’s complaint.

~ Jessica Bond