LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: There are some new federal standards out designed to help doctors and nurses diagnose degrees of pain. But with those standards nearing implementation, some experts say that they could do more harm than good. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen comes back now to talk some more about that.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.</s>HARRIS: Good morning.</s>COHEN: You know, Leon, study after study has shown that hospitals and nursing homes, which you would think would be masters at helping people relieve pain, many times aren't very good at it. One study, for example, found that of cancer patients in nursing homes, 42 percent received no pain medication at all, or just received aspirin or Tylenol. So now the organization that accredits hospitals and nursing homes says patients have the right to proper pain treatment. Under the new standards, they'll have to regularly ask patients about their pain, just like they regularly check blood pressure or temperature. They'll be able to use a scale like this one that asks patients to rate their pain from 0, which is no pain, to 10, which is the worst pain imaginable. There's even a scale for children where they use happy and sad faces along with the numbers. Now, pain experts say there's a problem. Even with these new standards, doctors didn't have much education in medical school about how to treat pain. And what they did learn, often times by now, is outdated.</s>DR. MARCEL GILLI, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: The technology has changed so much over the past few years that most of the physicians didn't have the possibility to learn or hear about those things while they were in medical school.</s>COHEN: These new standards are supposed to implemented starting this month.</s>HARRIS: Yes, I think those faces might actually work for adults as well.</s>COHEN: Absolutely.</s>HARRIS: All right.</s>COHEN: Absolutely.</s>HARRIS: Good deal. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks much. Have a painless new year.</s>COHEN: Well, thank you, and you too.</s>HARRIS: OK.
New Federal Standards Aim to Help Doctors, Nurses Diagnose Degrees of Pain