There are four primary vital signs: body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. In 1995, American Pain Society supported a campaign to consider pain the “5th Vital Sign.” The Joint Commission’s Standards on Pain Management were released in 2000, and although they never explicitly recommended opioid prescribing, they did include recognition of the right of patients to appropriate assessment and management of pain. To titrate the pain either acute or chronic, the prescribing of strong opioids such as oxycodone has increased dramatically in the United States over the past two decades. Opioids come in many forms, from prescription painkillers to street heroin. According to data, fatal overdoses from prescription opioids
