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| Vol. 23, No. 1 |
| January 15, 2001 |
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From the President As we begin a new year in the health care field, this issue of the Texas Medical Center News focuses on the topic of rehabilitation. We are fortunate in Houston and Harris County to have a number of agencies and institutions committed to rehabilitative treatment. Right here within the Texas Medical Center institutions, we have some of the world's best, such as The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, Shriners Hospital for Children, and Texas Children's Hospital. These are just a sampling of this area's high-quality facilities. Last year, TIRR Systems saw some 1,200 inpatients and more than 75,000 outpatients. Numbers like these are a testament to the high quality of care TIRR provides. And this carries over to other TMC institutions as well. The Texas Medical Center is proud to provide such excellent health care not only to the Houston area, but also to the world. The care that the doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists and others in the rehabilitation field provide is unmatched. Pain management is another important area of rehabilitation. As of Jan. 1, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is requiring all hospitals in the United States to regularly measure a patient's pain at the time of arrival, just as any other vital sign would be measured. Pain is assessed by asking patients to rate their pain on a scale of zero, no pain, to 10, the worst pain imaginable. Small children use pictures to rate their pain. The score determines the hospital's plan of action. Proper pain relief must begin as soon as possible or hospitals could risk losing their JCAHO accreditation. According to the new standards, facilities must recognize patients' rights to appropriate pain assessment and management, record the results in order to facilitate individualized pain management, educate health care providers about pain management, establish policies and procedures that support ordering appropriate prescriptions and pain medications, ensure that pain does not interfere with participation in rehabilitation, educate patients and their families about the importance of effective pain management, include patients' needs for symptom management in the discharge planning process, and collect data to monitor the appropriateness and effectiveness of pain management. Statistics compiled by the American Pain Society show that some 9 percent of Americans suffer from some type of chronic pain, and that four of every 10 people with moderate to severe pain don't get adequate relief. It is also estimated that 40 percent of cancer patients have undertreated pain, and one in four elderly cancer patients in nursing homes get no daily pain treatment. With these and other exciting developments in the health care industry, 2001 should prove to be one of the most significant years yet for medical treatments and research.
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