How to Complete a Rapid Pain Assessment in a Busy ED

Pain is a component of up to 78% of ED presenting complaints yet most ED physicians have had minimal training related to pain recognition, assessment, and management. Adequate pain assessment is complex and requires time to determine the patient's past pain and medication history, current pain history, and pain intensity. ED providers are under pressure to recognize and treat pain while also dealing with overcrowding, a vast array of patient complaints, and course descriptions concerns over opioid addiction and overprescribing. This course will review critical components of a rapid ED pain assessment, the current status of pain scales in the ED, electronic medical record documentation of pain, and current literature. (Recorded at PAINWeek 2016)