If you haven't already, start the medication order. You can search for PCA as the medication name, without selecting a route, to look up all medications that can be administered via patient-controlled epidural analgesia.
Complete the PCA order form:
Default values are available for some PCA meds. You can change these if needed.
The concentration for adult PCA is set when you select from the med search results. To order a different concentration, click Cancel (ALT+C) and repeat the medication lookup.
Press TAB to move through the fields quickly.
Click the tabs on the index card display in the upper right to view the Dosing Guide for PCA, Associated Orders, and the PCA Analgesia Scoring Guide. The associated orders and scoring guide information is included in the detail (Zoom) view of the order.
If the concentration you selected is high and requires approval of an authorized provider from the Pain, Palliative Care, or Anesthesia service, click Close (ALT+C) to acknowledge the message.
To select a lower concentration medication, click Cancel (ALT+C) to close the order form, then repeat the medication lookup.
To continue, complete the order, entering the name of the approving provider (see following).
Type values (mg) for the start dose, lower and upper limits for the dose range, lockout time, continuous rate (day and night), and one-hour dose limit. The start dose must be within the dose range.
Enter the name of the approving MD if the use of the medication is restricted (the Approval by field appears only when required):
Type at least one letter of the last name. To include more information, follow this with a comma (,), and one or more letters from the first name (no spaces).
Click Search Approval. The Providers list opens, displaying any names that matched your input.
Click to select a name. If applicable, select Temporary Pharmacy Approval.
Type instructions as needed, then click OK (ALT+O).
See also: Ordering medications