Drugs & aging
-
On 31 March 2009, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided revised guidance for meeting compliance in the evaluation and management of pain in nursing home residents, known as F-Tag 309. ⋯ The implementation of revisions to the surveyors' interpretive guidelines for F-Tag 309 improved recognition and management of pain as well as analgesic use in nursing home residents with documented non-cancer pain. Use of directed language as part of the surveyors' interpretive guidelines may be a viable approach to stimulating improvements in pain documentation and management.