Journal article
Quality Pain Care for Older Adults in an Era of Suspicion and Scrutiny
Journal of gerontological nursing, Vol.42(12), pp.31-39
12/01/2016
DOI: 10.3928/00989134-20161110-07
PMCID: PMC7041629
PMID: 27898134
Abstract
In two decades, the pendulum has swung from focusing on the under-treatment of pain by prescribers who fail to use medically necessary opioids, to an intense focus on over-prescribing opioids and the harms they cause. Within these two extremes rests the older adult with pain, and in need of safe and effective care. Today, healthcare providers are practicing in an era of scrutiny with new guidelines and regulations superseding their compassion and clinical judgment about the best treatment options when older adults have pain across the care continuum. Media depicting opioids as lethal, unnecessary and highly addictive that don’t distinguish non-medical from therapeutic use; or legitimately versus illegally obtained drugs are widely reported. These reports and legislative focus on treating addiction have silenced and further stigmatized older adults with persistent pain. Patients and professionals treating pain need to provide balance of multimodal pain management strategies to safely manage persistent pain based on a comprehensive assessment and a personalized approach.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Quality Pain Care for Older Adults in an Era of Suspicion and Scrutiny
- Creators
- Barbara St MariePaul Arnstein
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of gerontological nursing, Vol.42(12), pp.31-39
- DOI
- 10.3928/00989134-20161110-07
- PMID
- 27898134
- PMCID
- PMC7041629
- NLM abbreviation
- J Gerontol Nurs
- ISSN
- 0098-9134
- eISSN
- 1938-243X
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/01/2016
- Academic Unit
- Addiction Medicine; Nursing; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984064167302771
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