Pain management in the emergency department was identified as a priority area to close evidence practice gaps following consultation with the emergency care community of practice (EC CoP). This work builds on the work of the emergency department collaborative where the focus was on reducing time to pain relief.
Phase I - Identifying the practice gap
The first phase of work in this area is to measure current pain management practice in Australian emergency departments. NICS commissioned the Collaborative Health Education and Research Centre (CHERC) of Bendigo Health Care Group to design an audit tool in consultation with key members of the EC CoP and coordinate a national audit.
Key audit findings were presented at the Australian College of Emergency Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting, 25-30 November 2007 and can be viewed in the following three posters.
- NICS EC CoP Audit of Pain Management ACEM Report 2007 (PDF)
- NICS EC CoP Audit of Organisational Policies for Pain Management ACEM Report 2007 (PDF)
- NICS EC CoP and PREDICT Paediatric Pain Management Audit ACEM Report 2007 (PDF)
(these documents are best printed on A3 size paper)
Practice was measured against the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) endorsed evidence-based guidelines:
- Acute Pain Management: Scientific Evidence Second edition 2005. Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine (PDF, 3.7MB)
- Acute Pain Management: Scientific Evidence (Dec 2007 Update to 2nd Edition) (PDF, 564KB)
Chapter 9 provides best practice recommendations for pain management in emergency departments.
Phase II - Implementation
In May 2008 applications were received to participate in the National Emergency Care Pain Management Initiative. With an overwhelming level of interest, project sites have been split into two project waves. These sites will enter into a two year commitment working with NICS to monitor and develop local solutions to barriers to best practice pain management based on the national guidelines.
Further information
For further information, please email Scott Bennetts, NICS Program Manager or go to National Emergency Care Pain Management Initiative.