A 77-year-old female patient is admitted to the hospital for pneumonia.She has a history of lung cancer with metastases to bone.She is ordered a long-acting opioid administered around-the-clock.Her daughter asks you why the pain medication is ordered in that manner.You base your answer knowing that:

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Administering pain medications on an around-the-clock dosing schedule provides more stable therapeutic plasma level of drugs and eliminates the extremes of overmedication or undermedication.Around-the-clock dosing does not address the fear of addiction issue.The fear of addiction is unfounded; the issue is adequate pain relief for an individual with malignant pain.The nurse needs to assess for the side effects of opioids with any dosing schedule.Around-the-clock dosing does not necessarily decrease the amount of opioids used; however,it does allow for better pain management.

A 77-Year-Old Female Patient Is Admitted to the Hospital for Pneumonia.She