This customizable document, Initial Pain Assessment Form Guidelines, is taken from MCN Healthcare’s Hospice Policy and Procedure Manual. For more than 20 years, MCN has been the health care industry’s leading provider of policy and procedure templates, forms, competencies and other compliance tools.

MCN provides more than 80 health care specific policy and procedure manuals for Acute Care Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, Behavioral Health, Home Health, Physician Practice, and Long Term Care. MCN’s policy and procedure manuals focus on the latest healthcare "hot topic" issues related to patient safety and prevention of medical healthcare errors.

Here is some sample content from Initial Pain Assessment Form Guidelines:

	INITIAL PAIN ASSESSMENT FORM GUIDELINES This tool is composed of 10 sections. When possible, obtain this information directly from the patient. Indicate if the information is gathered from another source, like a spouse or parent. Remember, in some settings, such as ambulatory surgery, not all of this information is necessary. Decide what will be useful to you for the management of the patient. Location: Describe the location of the pain. Ask the patient to mark on a picture or point to the site of the pain. Intensity: The person experiencing the pain is the only one capable of...
Second excerpt:
	...settings use a 0 to 10 scale with word descriptors. To use this type of scale, ask the patient: On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 equaling no pain and 10 meaning the worst possible pain, what number would you give your pain right now? You may further simplify the scale by using words such as no pain, a little pain, a lot of pain, too much pain. Explain the purpose of the scale to the patient. Emphasize the fact that nurses or caregivers do not automatically know when a patient has pain. ...