Background: Hospitals are compelled by a variety of factors to optimize patient satisfaction. Pain management has been identified as an important determinant of overall inpatient satisfaction. However, effective pain management may be more challenging in the current climate of more cautious opioid use. Purpose: The 32-item Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) [...]

Background: Opiates, frequently used to provide analgesia, are associated with post-analgesia related tolerance effects such as hyperalgesia and hyperkatifeia, which lead to worsening of the pain experience. Patients can subsequently experience dissatisfaction with their care and seek further opiate use as a solution, worsening their experience further. Due to pharmacologic and healthcare-associated operational factors, the [...]