Joint Commission Opens Comment Period on New Pain Assessment and Management Requirements

ASA members may wish to comment on recent updates to several Joint Commission requirements. From the Joint Commission:

The Joint Commission is developing new Pain Assessment and Management requirements for the Ambulatory Health Care (AHC), Critical Access Hospital (CAH), and Office-Based Surgery (OBS) accreditation programs. The proposed requirements emphasize active participation of administrative and physician leadership in pain management, safe opioid prescribing protocols, and strengthening organizations' practices for pain assessment, treatment, education, and monitoring.

The Joint Commission is interested in feedback from those who are involved in pain assessment and management. Please access the survey below to provide feedback. The survey will be available through May 22, 2018.

• Pain Assessment and Management in Critical Access Hospitals
• Pain Assessment and Management in Office Based Surgery Organizations
• Pain Assessment and Management in Ambulatory Care Settings”

For more information, contact the ASA Department of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at qra@asahq.org or (202) 289-2222.