Gainful employment, participating in life roles (father, son, mother, grandma, etc), hobbies, general appearance (clean, make-up applied properly, well-kempt), mental status, speech.
Try this: ask them to bring in spouse, children, care-giver, etc and ask *THEM* how they think the patient is doing---very useful collateral info.
Some other good conversation starters: "What have you done for fun lately?" "How do you know the medicine is working?" "Have you ever tried taking a little less for a while and seeing what happens?" "What are your goals?" "What if your pain stayed exactly the same as it is today with or without medicine--what would you do?"
Other things to try: Set mutually agreed goals and chart them in the medical record. It's very "rehabby," but keeping the visits focused on goals instead of dose or NPS ratings makes a big difference...
