Since 1999 when the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) added pain assessment and management to their regulatory standards, which were implemented in 2001, ?pain management? has been elevated in level of importance. The phrase ?pain management,? used by health care regulatory agencies, health care organizations, and health care providers has become a buzzword that is used without thinking of its broader implications or its exclusionary taken-for-granted meaning.
