Road Map for Opioid Management in the Inpatient Setting: A Structured Approach to Opioid Selection and Titration

摘要

IntroductionEffective pain management is a major challenge of medicine as patients with acute and chronic pain conditions require careful evaluation and treatment. Despite required pain management education in postgraduate training, effective pain management is often not achieved in the hospital setting. For example, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2007 required internal medicine residencies to include instruction on pain management. However, studies have demonstrated a lack of pain management knowledge in trainees in pediatrics, neurology, internal medicine, and family practice. This includes a lack of basic skills in pain assessment, knowledge of narcotic pain medication pharmacology, and management of patients with pain at the end of life.