Pain management--continuum of care for surgical patients.

A pain management process improvement team was created to develop a unified and consistent way to address pain management for surgical patients. Team members evaluated patient satisfaction ratings, patient and family member education, use of specific pain scales, patient comfort function goals, staff member education, and use of physician standing orders and protocols. Team members were proactive in their efforts to improve pain management outcomes for surgical patients and to improve patient satisfaction. They also integrated protocols to comply with pain management standards established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.