title: Pain management: the fifth vital sign.
abstract: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations blitzed the health care market in December to announce new pain standards. They were developed over two years in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Medicine, to ensure all patients the right to appropriate assessment and management of their pain. The standards underline that organizations have a responsibility to develop processes within their settings to help support improvements in pain management.
authors.affiliation: Ganey Associates, South Bend, IN, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lanser
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gesell
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States