Comparison of Methods for Recording Post Operative Pain

Pain is a universal experience and at the forefront of all things medicine; however, the way medical professionals deal with it lacks coherence. Clinicians often ask their patients how their pain is, but seldom document it with enough information to be useful. The purpose of this study is to determine how we can collect the most self-reported pain intensity data. The investigators will collect this data with time and date-stamped Visual Analogue Scale-a pain rating scale from 0-10-scores for each patient in the study, randomized to one of three groups (pen & paper, app, and pain recorder device). As pain is a universal experience and a hallmark sign of many disease states, having a detailed recording of the patient's pain journey is of utmost importance, and understanding that pain with further granularity can only help with the diagnosis of worsening disease, personalization of treatment, and outcomes assessment.

Inclusion criteria

• Patient over 18 years old

Exclusion criteria

• Patient cannot use a smartphone
• Patient cannot use his hands to write or press a button
• Patient has a nerve catheter (has no pain)
• Altered mental status
• Neuropathy causing loss of pain sensation