40.997              Pain as the “Fifth Vital Sign”

40.997              Pain as the “Fifth Vital Sign”

The Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) affirms as policy that the clinical highlighting of pain as “the fifth vital sign” and a focus on eradication or total resolution of a patients pain is misguided and leads to 1) inappropriate pain management demands by patients; 2) inappropriate pressure on clinical pain management practices by clinicians; and 3) consequently, the diffuse overuse of opioids.

MSSNY will recommend that “pain as the fifth vital sign” be removed from the clinical practice environment and that the Joint Commission remove “pain as the fifth vital sign” from its standards.

(HOD 2015-154; Reaffirmed with modification HOD 2025)