Abstract
The 1994 Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Cancer Pain published by the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) was the basis for a cooperative project on cancer pain control conducted by the Utah peer review organization with a team of clinicians from seven acute care hospitals. The purpose of the project was to adapt the federal guideline into action plans for participating hospitals and provide the tools necessary to address six “core” issues, i.e., assess and relieve pain, educate the patient/family and health care workers, measure patient satisfaction, and provide a continuum of care post discharge. The issues were further adapted to meet the needs of the participating hospitals. Baseline data were collected on 10 patient records per hospital. Survey results confirmed that attitudes about cancer pain management were changing, but more needed to be done to prevent patient suffering. Follow-up data after one year showed significantly more compliance on all six core issues. Improved patient satisfaction with pain management has been documented. Statewide expansion was undertaken to extend implementation to the remaining acute care hospitals and to other health care settings in Utah and to ease patients' transition from one care setting to another. The project team continues to monitor progress in guideline implementation.