Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia allows patients to administer their own pain medication.

• Position: HEALTH BEAT - Brief article

Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia allows patients to administer their own pain medication, but errors related to this practice are four times more likely to result in patient harm than errors that occur with other medications, according to a study by Rodney Hicks, endowed chair for Patient Safety at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock. "The entire PCA...