Title : Timely pain reassessment: A critical step towards effective pain management
Abstract:
Background: Effective pain management is a cornerstone of quality patient care. Although initial pain assessments are typically performed, timely reassessments are inconsistent. This leads to suboptimal outcomes such as unmanaged pain, prolonged hospital stays, decreased patient satisfaction.
Methods: The ED Overflow nursing leadership team recognized that timely pain reassessment is essential for effective pain management, as it ensures that interventions are effective, helps identify adverse effects, and contributes to improved patient outcomes and quality of life. In July 2024, we began addressing pain reassessment fallouts by creating a pain reassessment dashboard. For staff who were out of compliance, achieving substantial change required educational efforts, extensive leadership involvement through one-on-one coaching, timely and consistent monthly audit and feedback, and clear accountability aligned with organizational goals. Nurses are instructed on the importance of pain reassessments and on the policy and specific documentation requirements. Reassessment of pain is a routine variable displayed on unit and departmental quality dashboards.
Implementation Plan:
Act:
• Continue using the current multifaceted approach: education, audits, coaching, and feedback
• Routinely assess for barriers to compliance and adjust.
Plan:
• Implement measures to increase compliance in documenting pain reassessments after oral and IV pain medication administration in a timely manner.
• ECU leadership will monitor monthly compliance using a customized pain reassessment dashboard to track and analyze trends in documentation.
Study:
July 2024 – June 2025
• Pain reassessment compliance improved by 13%.
• A total of 144 audits were completed during the 12-month period.
• Feedback from staff indicated improved awareness and engagement regarding timely reassessment practices.
Do:
Leadership to complete a minimum of 10 pain reassessment observation audits per month.
Result: Since implementation in July 2024 through June 2025, our pain reassessment compliance has improved by 13%. Our goal was to complete at least 10 employee pain reassessment observation audits per month. In total, 144 audits were performed. Each audit was conducted individually with employees, and follow-up summary emails were provided to reinforce key teaching points and ensure continuity of learning.
Conclusion: Improving the consistency and timeliness of pain reassessment is achievable through targeted education, workflow integration, and accountability measures. These strategies not only enhance patient comfort and safety but also align with regulatory standards and institutional quality goals.
