Letter requesting that the Joint Commission reexamine the Pain Management Standards

April 13, 2016

The undersigned organizations and individuals are writing to request that the Joint Commission reexamine the Pain Management Standards(PC.01.02.07, PC.01.02.01 RI.01.01.01). Although we commend TJC for its recent clarification of PC.01.02.07, affirming that treatmentstrategies may include non-pharmacological approaches, we believe the Pain Management Standards continue to encourage unnecessary, unhelpful and unsafe pain treatmentsthat interfere with primary disease management.