The “Five-Minute” Mental Status Examination of Persons with Pain

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors will review the various aspects of the mental status that can be assessed during the provision of clinical pain care, provide precise terminology and definitions for the phenomena commonly encountered, suggest some methods for mental status assessment that can easily be incorporated into clinical routines, and provide a framework for how to document such findings in the health care record. The astute pain practitioner unwittingly performs aspects of a mental status examination as part of everyday clinical encounters. Learning the material presented in this chapter and incorporating a conscious assessment of these parameters into routine pain care will translate to better diagnoses, improved documentation, more precise and thorough documentation, and enhanced care for patients presenting with pain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)