Other methods of pain assessment include
patients’ self-reports. These include hand-held
patient records, which may be electronic or paper
to enable assessment and management approaches
to be shared by all healthcare professionals
involved in patients’ care. Diaries, charts or scales
may be used by patients to record the intensity of
their pain, the analgesics and non-pharmacological
approaches they have tried, and how well these
worked. Carers should be included in the
assessment process as they may need to be
involved in the ongoing monitoring of pain,
and may provide insight about whether the
patient is being stoical.