The Joint Commission is seeking input on proposed revisions to its Requirements Related to Pain Assessment and Management for the Hospital Accreditation Program, the organization announced on January 9, 2017. The revisions, Joint Commission said, "are being developed to further promote patient safety and quality of care and align the accreditation requirements with current recommendations from scientific, professional, and governmental organizations." Proposed revisions are in the Leadership Chapter; Medical Staff Chapter; Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services Chapter; and Performance Improvement Chapter. One element of performance added to the Leadership Chapter is a requirement mandating that a hospital has a leader or leadership team responsible for pain management and safe opioid prescribing. The chapter includes provisions that the organization facilitate practitioner access to prescription drug monitoring databases. A new requirement that the hospital must promote access to nonpharmacologic pain treatment is also included in this chapter. In the Medical Staff Chapter, a new requirement states that staff should be actively involved in pain assessment, pain management, and safe opioid prescribing by establishing protocols and quality metrics, as well as reviewing performance improvement data. A revised element in the Provision of Care Chapter is that hospitals have written policies on pain screening, assessment, and reassessment and that these policies be evidence-based. Previously this element did not require the policy to be written. One change to the Performance Improvement Chapter is a requirement that hospitals collect data on pain assessment and pain management, including timing of reassessments, what interventions were used, and how effective they were. Comments will be accepted until February 20, 2017, via an online survey, the mail, or an online form.

HRC Recommends: Risk managers at facilities accredited by the Joint Commission should review the agency's proposed requirements for pain assessment and management, decide whether to comment on the proposal by February 20, 2017, and ensure consistency with the organization's policies if the proposal is adopted.