[Organization model for postoperative pain management in a basic-care hospital]

Small hospitals often lack the financial and personnel resources to realize innovative postoperative pain management concepts. This is not-as shown here-an absolute contradiction. The regular measurement of pain and its documentation by ward nurses as well as the appropriate prescription of analgesics play a key role in our concept. The joint establishment of guidelines, information sessions and the on-going dialog between the various professional groups guarantees the necessary consensus of all specialists involved in postoperative pain control. If an anesthetist is available 24 h a day, a nurse-based acute pain service (APS) becomes available for managing patients with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) systems. The use of PCA and the performance of pain visits at regular intervals increase patient comfort and satisfaction. In addition, it can contribute to reduced hospitalization time in the context of fast-track rehabilitation programs. In our opinion, embedding the measures in a quality management program has a valuable catalytic effect, although implementation takes at least 1-2 years.