Pain Management EMR Can Help Doctors Treat Children in the ER

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a report this week regarding the relief of pain in pediatric patients in emergency care settings. According to the report, “a systematic approach to pain management and anxiolysis, including staff education and protocol development, can provide comfort to children…and improve staff and family satisfaction.”

By using pain management EMR software, ER physicians can overcome treatment barriers and properly manage pain and stress in children following guidelines recommended by the AAP. Here’s how:

Pediatric pain assessments

Children experience pain much differently than adults do due to lower tolerance levels – and the younger the child is the less resistant he/she is to pain. In addition, children cannot always accurately describe what they feel or differentiate between different degrees of discomfort. By using EMR software, however, doctors and nurses have access to pediatric pain assessment tools, which can help gauge the severity of pain a child is feeling based on the patient’s age and level of development. Some of the tools that pain management and pediatric EMR systems include are:

• Numerical pain scales
• FACES pain scale
• Neonatal pain scoring tool

Medication administration

The AAP also recommends that analgesics and anesthetics be administered as painlessly as possible – and that hospital emergency rooms have policies in place regarding the use of topical anesthetics prior to potentially painful procedures. This can include stitching a wound or placing an intravenous line. After healthcare professionals have established policies for their organization, the notes can be easily uploaded to their EMR for nurses and providers to access when treating young patients.

Safe sedation before surgery

In order to relieve pain and ensure that a child remains still during a complex procedure, emergency room physicians often administer short-acting agents to provide sedation. However, providing safe sedation for children requires abiding by appropriate guidelines. Before sedating a child, the AAP recommends that physicians perform a structured risk stratification, which includes examining the patient’s airway and taking into account pre-existing conditions. Doctors using a pain management EMR can use pre-loaded templates to document the data and to ensure that all areas of concern have been monitored. With an EMR, emergency room physicians can also benefit from post-op templates and easily printable forms, such as follow-up care instructions to give parents upon discharging the patient.

Interested in learning more about 1st Providers Choice’s pain management EMR software? Click here to read about our software’s features or contact us at 480-782-1116 for a free demo.