MDs the key to better pain management CMAJ 1997;157:1007 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association The American Pain Society says adequate treatment of symptoms should take precedence over the legalization of physician-assisted death at the end of a patient's life. One of the keys is better education for physicians, nurses, patients and families about pain treatment. This means materials to guide treatment must be readily available to help clinicians write orders. As well, pain must be made "visible" and routinely charted as a "fifth vital sign" so that unrelieved pain triggers a prompt response. In its recently approved statement on pain treatment, the society said a physician trained in pain control can provide adequate pain relief for more than 90% of dying patients. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ October 15, 1997 (vol 157, no 8) / JAMC le 15 octobre 1997 (vol 157, no 8) |