Hypermedia Clinical Practice Guidelines for Cancer Pain

One of the overwhelming concerns for health care professionals who treat cancer patients is pain management. Issues include prescribing appropriate and effective medications and calculating the proper drug dosages. The Hypermedia Assistant for Cancer Pain Management (HACPM), a project of the University of Utah Pain Research Center, provides a comprehensive collection of online resources related to the treatment and management of cancer pain. These resources include interactive, multimedia tools and resources that will assist health care providers in managing the pain of cancer patients as efficiently and compassionately as possible.

All heath care professionals who treat cancer patients should be familiar with the Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Cancer Pain, formulated by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The full contents of the Clinical Practice Guideline are available online through the HACPM in a hyperlinked format. The Clinical Practice Guideline provides the latest health care standards for assessing and monitoring pain in cancer patients and for treating, managing, and controlling pain through both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic means. In addition, the Current and Emerging Issues in Cancer Pain: Research and Practice,in its entirety, is available online in hyperlinked format through the HACPM. In addition, the HACPM provides a library of technical resources and references related to the issue of pain management in cancer patients. Information on repertory hypergrids, a method of creating links between documents for easier retrieval of vital information, is included. Moreover, the HACPM includes a page devoted entirely to a comprehensive list of links to web sites with information and resources related to pain management. This comprehensive list includes links to nationally funded cancer research centers, pain research centers at major American universities, internet discussion groups on oncology and cancer pain, and sites providing general health and medical information relevant to the treatment of cancer and the management of cancer pain.

Health care professionals who treat cancer patients need to know what medication dosages to provide their patients and at what intervals. They need to know how and where to apply these drugs. In order to make these determinations, health care providers need to assess pain severity and calculate drug dosages. The HACPM provides a series of interactive tools to assist in the assessment of pain and the calculation and administration of drug dosages, including drug dosage calculators, a dermatome map which reveals the relationships between spinal nerve fibers, muscle groups, and sensory nerves, and pain assessment tools.

Those who treat cancer patients and struggle with the issue of managing their pain can always benefit from the guidance of experts in the field of oncology and pain management. Among the HACPM’s multimedia resources are video interviews with experts on issues ranging from treating pain to dispelling myths about cancer pain to dealing with pain in special patient populations. The HACPM’s multimedia collection also includes video clips providing advice for cancer patients in dealing with pain and pain treatment. In addition, the HACPM provides animated, multimedia tutorials demonstrating the role of the nervous system and nociceptive signals in creating pain and the use of neural processes in relieving pain.