title: Can a pain management programme approach reduce healthcare use? Stopping the revolving door.
abstract: Patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain are frequent users of healthcare. Whilst evidence suggests that a multidisciplinary pain management programme (PMP) approach is effective in reducing patients' levels of distress and disability, there is little research examining the cost-effectiveness of such an approach. The present study sought to address this by examining the impact a PMP had on patients' pain-related secondary care healthcare use. A 90.5% reduction in healthcare use was found 12 months after the PMP, compared with 12 months before the PMP. The cost of the pain-related healthcare use 12 months before the PMP was £35,700. Twelve months after the PMP, the cost of healthcare use had reduced to £3879. The findings suggest that a PMP approach could reduce pain-related healthcare use.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Active Lifestyle Management (CALM), University Hospital Lewisham, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clare
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Research Methods Centre, King's College London Dental Institute, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Manoharan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andiappan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Active Lifestyle Management (CALM), University Hospital Lewisham, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: MacNeil
authors.affiliation: Centre for Active Lifestyle Management (CALM), University Hospital Lewisham, London, UK.
authors.forename: Tamzin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bunton
authors.affiliation: Centre for Active Lifestyle Management (CALM), University Hospital Lewisham, London, UK.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarrett
keywords: Chronic pain; cost-effectiveness; healthcare use; healthcare utilisation; musculoskeletal pain; pain management programme