New Consensus Statement for Pain Management

The Boards of Nursing and Pharmacy have developed a joint statement on pain management. It states that the “South Carolina Boards of Nursing and Pharmacy concur with The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) guideline on pain management which declares that patients have the right to appropriate assessment and management of pain. The application of clinical knowledge and patient-centered treatment modalities improve the quality of life for patients who suffer from pain. All health care providers who treat pain, whether acute or chronic, should become knowledgeable about effective methods of pain management. The management of pain should include the utilization of both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic modalities”. To read the entire statement, visit the LLR site click here. The new policy will also be printed in the September issue of the Palmetto Nurse.

How do we measure up?

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network's (ACS CAN) 2009 How do you Measure Up: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality shows that South Carolina is out of the red. The improvement from red to yellow is in respect to its Cancer Pain Management Policy and Practice. One of the improvement criteria requests that professional licensing boards adopt policies on pain management. South Carolina Boards of Nursing and Pharmacy recently developed a consensus statement on pain management and the Board of Medical Examiners adopted the newest version of the Federation of State Medical Boards pain management guidelines. Click here to see report.