Pain Toolkit
Pain is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer. Documenting the patient’s pain intensity at every visit is one of the first steps in addressing pain. Their plan of care for pain may need to be modified over the course of the patient’s treatment to reduce pain and help improve quality of life. While quality measure documentation is important, improved patient outcomes are the goal.
Only specified clinicians may modify the patient’s treatment plan, but all members of the care team can participate in recognizing patients in pain, asking questions and contributing to the solution, at the level appropriate to their scope of practice.
Use the links in this toolkit as a resource to assist your care team in developing a Pain Campaign to improve education and Practice policies and procedures to address pain.
Patient Education and Resources
Education resources for patients and care team members to:
Improve understanding about cancer-related pain
Learn to communicate about pain
How treatment can differ based on the level of pain
Clinical Standards
Clinical Standards are templates for Policies and Procedures or SOPs that:
Are evidence-based
Represent current Best Practice
Leverage knowledge and experience of the Network’s clinical experts
Are Peer Reviewed and require a Quality Assurance Process
Practices must put the clinical standards through their Governance Process for final approval: Please follow these steps:
Review provided clinical standards (download from toolkit)
Change to meet Practice specific needs and workflow or recommend for adoption as developed
Add practice logo and other information to header or copy into practice template
Approve as the Practice’s Policy and Procedure by Practice Governance Board (i.e. JPB, Quality Comm.)
Quality Measures
As new workflows are implemented, quality measures can measure improvement in:
Pain intensity documentation
Plan of Care to address pain
Patient-Reported Pain Improvement
We’re Here to Help
As you plan your Pain Campaign we are ready to help.
Clinical assistance, nurse managers can reach out to :alden.egan@mckesson.com
Changes to processes and clarification about quality measures: Your Transformation Lead
Social Workers and the important role they can play: lydia.mills@mckesson.com