Canadian nurse initiated analgesia protocol to reduce delays in the emergency department: A quality improvement study.

Background: Australian literature supports nurse-initiated opioid analgesia protocols may be effective, but this practice is not yet widely adopted in Canada.

Local Problem: Previous quality audits of Emergency Departments (EDs) in Victoria (Canada) indicate long delays to administration of analgesia.

Methods: Two tertiary care hospitals in a Canadian city of approximately 400,000 people were chosen for a quality improvement initiative.