To assess the pain level, the application does not need to be connected to the Internet to function correctly. However, it is recommended to stay connected whenever possible to ensure all data is quickly synchronised and updates are installed in a timely manner.

It is recommended to use the PainChek app in a well-lit indoor environment that allows accurate observation of the person whose pain level you want to assess and accurately enter visual and audible pain cue data.

 When you and the patient are ready, start pain assessment by clicking on the ‘Assess Pain’ button on the respective patient profile. You need to complete the steps described below to successfully conduct a pain assessment.

  1. Tap My Patients (Residents or Clients) button on your Dashboard

2. Select the person you want to assess from the list. If there person is not there, check the full list Patients (residents or clients) in the bottom left corner

3. Select the profile you want to assess from the list by pressing on the person’s name, institution or room

4. Tap Assess Pain button

          

5. The first pain cue will appear on the screen The Face, few seconds later your camera phone is activated

6. Focus your patient’s (resident or client) face with your camera phone. The screen will become in color where the focus is accurate. Use the blue square on the screen as a guide to center your patient’s face on the screen

Press on Start analysis. The default time is set to 3 seconds

8. When the assessment is done, you will find a list with the pain cues The Face identified by the system. You will now see the results of your analysis. Please verify if every element was checked by the system and include any other pain cue you have identified

     

 9. The Voice: You will need to check ten statements regarding any vocalisations made by the person. You also have the option to type in additional remarks at the bottom or add an audio recording of the person’s voice by pressing the REC button

 

 10.The Movement: You will need to check eight statements regarding the movements of the person whose pain level you want to assess. You can also type in additional remarks

   

11. The Behaviour: You will need to check eight statements regarding the behaviour of the person whose pain level you want to assess. You can also type in additional remarks

 

12. The Activity: You will need to answer five questions regarding the activity of the person whose pain level you want to assess. You can also type in additional remarks

13. The Body: You will need to answer seven questions regarding the person whose pain level you want to assess. You can also type in additional remarks

 

You can move back and forth between the different screens by swiping left or right.

 14. When you finish The Body pain cues press on SUBMIT ASSESSMENT. The pain assessment will output a total score

At the end of the pain assessment you will be able to see separate scores for Face, Voice, Movement, Behaviour, Activity and Body as well as the total aggregated pain score and its intensity level (absent, mild, moderate, severe). This level is assigned according to the scale below:

1-6 = No pain

7-11 = Mild

12-15 = Moderate

> 16 = Severe

Once the pain assessment has been completed you can save the data. Unfinished assessments will be discarded after 15 minutes if the assessment is not saved.

The total score is calculated by the addition of inputs in each domain. In the example above, Johnny Apples has a total score of 5.

15. If you want to verify a specific pain cue’s score press on the pain cue. Press SAVE to end the pain assessment or stop the assessment process by pressing on CANCEL.

The information is not lost but the process is not completed. You can come back later to SAVE the results

16. If you need to delete the assessment, the Delete assessment button is under CANCEL and SAVE buttons. If you choose this option, you will lose all the information. A saved assessment cannot be deleted.