What sign contents were reviewed by CMS in making their ruling on pain signs?
The SC Hospital Association submitted the following language:
Proposed Sign:
Prescribing Pain Medication in the Emergency Department
Our Emergency Department staff understands that pain relief is important when one is hurt or needs emergency care. However, providing pain relief is often a complex issue, especially when pain is a chronic or recurrent process. Mistakes or misuses of pain medication can cause serious health problems and even death. Our Emergency Department will only provide pain relief options that are safe and appropriate.
• The primary role of the Emergency Medicine provider is to look for and treat an emergency medical condition. We will use our best medical judgment when treating pain, following all legal and ethical guidelines.
• You may be asked about a history of pain medication use, misuse, or substance abuse before prescribing any pain medication.
• We may ask you to show a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, when you check into the Emergency Department or receive a prescription for pain medications. We may also research the statewide prescription data base regarding your prescription drug use.
• We may only provide enough pain medication to last until you can contact your doctor. We will prescribe pain medications with a lower risk of addiction and/or overdose when possible.
For your safety, we do not:
– Give pain medication shots for sudden increases in chronic pain, or aggravation of chronic pain syndromes.
– Refill lost or stolen prescriptions for medications. You must obtain refill prescriptions from your primary care provider or pain clinician.
– Prescribe missed methadone doses, or provide prescription refills for chronic pain management.
– Prescribe long-acting pain medications, such as OxyContin, MSContin, fentanyl patches, or methadone for chronic, non-cancer pain.
– Prescribe pain medications if you already receive pain medication from another doctor or emergency department.