Study: Women Not Getting Proper Pain Meds in ERs
While pain is subjective, and patients are often asked to voice their level of pain on a scale of 0 to 10, according to a new study, women are less likely to receive pain medication than men in the ER, even though they are reporting the same level of distress. Researchers also found that bias can play a role when there isn’t an obvious source of trauma, such as a broken limb.
For the report, researchers reviewed records of 17,000 ER patients at an overseas hospital. Patients were categorized by male or female, and the researchers focused on pain without obvious causes, such as headache or chest aches, and looked at the patient’s 0-to-10 pain rating as well as whether medication was prescribed. The team found bias against women across all age groups.
While 47% of male patients received some sort of pain relief medication, when having similar symptoms, only 38% of female patients did. However, on average, women rated their pain slightly lower than men, 6.64 compared to 6.81. This was the case across all pain ratings and whether opioids or nonopioids (e.g. ibuprofen) were prescribed.
The research team then expanded their study to the U.S., analyzing records of 4,000 ER patients in a Missouri hospital. They found similar patterns of pain levels and medication response. Taking it even further, the team presented written scenarios to 100 nurses at that same hospital, asking them to rate the pain from 0 to 100. The nurses consistently rated male pain closer to 90, with an average of 80, while they rated female pain at an average of 72. The results were “amazingly consistent” and demonstrated clear bias, noted the researchers.
Lack of duty of care in the ER can have serious and even life-threatening implications. Tom Duffy has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims of emergency room injury and negligence, including a $21,000,000 verdict for a patient prematurely discharged. Contact us if you would like to set up a consultation at no cost.