title: Role of health care professionals in multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities in Canada.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the role of health care professionals in multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities (MPTF) for the treatment of chronic pain across Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  MPTF were defined as clinics that advertised specialized multidisciplinary services for the diagnosis and management of chronic pain, and had staff from a minimum of three different health care disciplines (including at least one medical specialty) available and integrated within the facility. Administrative leaders at eligible MPTF were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire on their infrastructure as well as clinical, research, teaching and administrative activities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 102 MPTF returned the questionnaires. General practitioners, anesthesiologists and physiatrists were the most common types of physicians integrated in the MPTF (56%, 51% and 32%, respectively). Physiotherapists, psychologists and nurses were the most common nonphysician professionals working within these MPTF (75%, 68% and 57%, respectively), but 33% to 56% of them were part-time staff. Only 77% of the MPTF held regular interdisciplinary meetings to discuss patient management, and 32% were staffed with either a psychologist or psychiatrist. The three most frequent services provided by physiotherapists were patient assessment, individual physiotherapy or exercise, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. The three most common services provided by psychologists were individual counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy and psychodynamic therapy. The major roles of nurses were patient assessment, assisting in interventional procedures and patient education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Different health care professionals play a variety of important roles in MPTF in Canada. However, few of them are involved on a full-time basis and the extent to which pain is assessed and treated in a truly multidisciplinary manner is questionable.
authors.affiliation: Wasser Pain Management Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. philip.peng@uhn.on.ca
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jennifer N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Stinson
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choiniere
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dion
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Intrater
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: LeFort
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Saifee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rashiq
authors.forename: Gregg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tkachuk
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Veillette
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059408:Pain Management; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'