Effectiveness of the ABCDEF method for developing an institution-specific pain management clinical resource.

INTRODUCTION: Comprehensive treatment strategies improve pain management in hospitalized patients, but no conclusive algorithm is currently available. The Audience, Blueprint, Collaborators, Dissemination, Education, Feedback method for pain management resource development (ABCDEF method) has been proposed as an "executable template" for developing clinical resources customized to local practice environments.

METHODS: The ABCDEF method was used to develop a proposal for a pain management pamphlet. Thereafter, a "Pocket Resource: Evidence-Based Pain Management and Responsible Opioid Prescribing" was developed according to the proposal. Qualitative retrospective analysis was performed to determine executability of the ABCDEF method for developing this institution-specific pain management resource.

RESULTS: Twelve elements of the ABCDEF method were analyzed. Ten were completed according to the ABCDEF method instruction sheet. Of those, the expected outcome was different than actual outcome for four elements. All outcomes that were different than expected expanded either the overall impact or the information incorporated into the finished resource.

CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative retrospective analysis demonstrates executability of the ABCDEF method to successfully develop an institution-specific pain management resource. This template adds to the resources available to create evidence-based care consistency individualized to local practice environments. Study limitations include the retrospective analysis and a lack of generalizability for the results.