Children's Pain Bill of Rights

Patients Have a Right To:

• Know what pain to expect and how long it might last
• Have pain questions answered
• Make a pain plan with doctors and nurses
• Tell your pain and pain medicine history
• Know what medicine and treatments will be used
• Know the up-side and down-side of treatments
• Know what non-medicine pain treatments might help
• Have your pain stopped or controlled
• Be believed when you say you have pain
• Be checked for pain using a pain scale
• Ask for changes if your pain continues
• Have your family help with pain decisions
• Have your doctors and nurses care about you
• Get your pain medicine on time
• Get another opinion or ask for a pain specialist
• See your records when you ask for them
• Remind your doctors and nurses that taking care of your pain is part of taking care of you

 Parents Have a Right To:

• Act on the behalf of your child
• Have your child's pain controlled adequately
• Discuss your child's pain history and pain behavior
• Tell what special name for hurt your child uses (such as "boo-boo", "owie", or other)
• Receive comfort for your child when he/she is in pain
• Know what kind of pain can be expected and for how long
• Know how pain will be controlled before, during, and after any procedure
• Know the risks, benefits, and side effects of medications
• Be with your child before, during, and immediately after a medical procedure
• Be with your child up to and immediately after surgery
• Have a commitment from doctors and nurses to assess pain on a regular basis
• Have doctors and nurse use topical and/or local anesthetics before any injections, needle sticks, or invasive procedures
• Have postoperative pain managed aggressively
• Request painless methods of administering medications (oral or intravenous line, instead of injection)
• Have doctors and nurse listen to your assessment of how much pain your child is experiencing
• Remind those who care for your child that pain management is an important part of any diagnostic, medical, or surgical procedure
• Request a second opinion if you feel your child's pain is being poorly managed
• Act as an aggressive advocate for your child
• Request a Child Life Specialist to provide non-pharmacological interventions during procedures