I haven't been in this game long enough to see the pendulum swing so many times. But what seems different about the Fifth Vital Sign is that CMS and Joint Commission are looking at patient satisfaction, both in the ER with pain and on the floor. Statistics for hospitals are now published on the CMS web site. Pain addicts will not be satisfied unless you feed the addiction.
The odd thing, is that the government is working against itself. CMS is mandating treatment that floods the market with opioids, while another branch of the fed, the DEA, is arresting doctors.
