I know very little about pain pumps but I know about the "pain pumps" that we use in the hospital. We can set those with a dose that stays constant during the entire time and set bolus amounts and lockout times so the patient cannot overdo it. We then figure what the constant is and it can be tweeked by looking at how many as needed dosages and how many times the patient attempted to bolus themselves. Works great after surgery and with patients who have poor pain management.
so what I am saying I would think there was a way to deliver a bolus dose. However I see the docs point about running out too soon or when he is not availble. When by SCS has quit in the past the pain comes back with a vengance! That would be terrible and if it was any more then a couple of days that would SUCK

Z