Cancer pain management: pilot implementation of the AHCPR guideline in Utah

Using the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research's (AHCPR's) 1994 Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Cancer Pain, HealthInsight, the peer review organization for Utah and Nevada, organized a cooperative project with physicians and nurses from seven acute care hospitals in Utah. The project's purpose was to adapt the guideline into action plans for participating hospitals and provide the tools necessary to address six "core" guidelines-to assess and relieve pain, educate the patient/family and health care workers, measure patient satisfaction, and provide a continuum of care postdischarge. GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT: The guidelines were further adapted to meet the needs of the individual hospitals and were implemented in January 1995. Baseline data was collected on 10 patient records per hospital.

Survey results confirmed that although attitudes about cancer pain management were changing, more needed to be done to prevent patient suffering. Follow-up data after one year showed significantly more compliance on all six core guidelines.

The oncology nurse manager and the hematology/oncology physician chief at one hospital joined the project team to support their own ongoing efforts to implement the guidelines. At that hospital, patient satisfaction with pain management has since increased from the 60%-80% level to at least 90%. STATEWIDE PROJECT EXPANSION: Statewide expansion was planned in fall 1995 to extend implementation to the remaining acute care hospitals and to other health care settings in Utah and to ease a patient's transition from one setting to another.

The project team continues to monitor progress in guideline implementation. Surveys demonstrate that, at the time of diagnosis, up to 45% of cancer patients experience moderate to severe pain; 65%-90% experience severe pain when cancer reaches the advanced stages. Unrelieved cancer pain can cause intense suffering, diminished activity, loss of appetite, and loss of sleep.