Is pain the fifth vital sign"? | Perioperative Coach

What's the current thinking on pain management and the 'opioid crisis'? On reflection were people wrong to emphasise the message that 'pain is the fifth vital sign'? How did 'pain management' instead become 'opioid management'?   The UK has had a slightly different ride to the US in this respect, although not without its problems, could that be due to this 'fifth vital sign' message being less popular on the other side of the atlantic? Is it important to manage expectations and emphasise patient comfort rather than a total absence of any pain whatsoever?   Presented by Monty Mythen with his guests Mike Grocott, Professor of Anaesthesia and critical care at the University of Southampton and a member of The Morpheus Consortium; Dr. Padma Gulur, anesthesiologist and a Pain Medicine Specialist who sees patients at Davis Ambulatory Surgical Center, Duke Pain Medicine and Duke Perioperative Pain Care; Annemarie Thompson, MD, Director, Residency Program, Professor of Anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine.