New DoD Pain Rating Scale Will Help Military Doctors Assess Patients' Misery

The Defense Department has a new tool to help military health care providers tackle one of the most complex challenges facing patients: pain. But the new Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale now includes more detailed descriptions designed to prompt patients to consider how the pain is affecting their daily functions, including activities, sleep and mood. Gone are descriptors ranging from "mild pain" to "worst pain," replaced with "hardly notice pain" to the "THIS IS AS BAD AS IT COULD BE, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS" type of pain. The DoD has launched a new pain rating scale that bears the familiar 0-10 numbers; smiley and frowny faces; and green, amber and red stoplight colors meant to signal a patient's acute or chronic pain. Read more on Military.com.