Abstract
Pain is a pervasive health issue that adversely affects both patients and society. The socioeconomic burden of pain conditions is a multifaceted problem with many involved stakeholders who work in concert with one another and are similarly affected by actions of any one party. Conservative estimates of the healthcare costs associated with the management of pain conditions suggest a burden of $560–635 billion.
The foremost barrier is the considerable lack of knowledge and awareness of the socioeconomic burden of acute pain among all stakeholders. At the healthcare provider level, there is an urgent need for education and training of healthcare providers to effectively manage pain to optimize outcomes, reduce prolonged hospitalizations, and prevent recurrent provider and emergency room visits. Patient self-management can also be integral in preventing exacerbations and reducing functional impairments. Numerous studies have indicated that interdisciplinary acute pain management constitutes the most clinically effective and cost-efficient means of treating most pain conditions. Insurers refusal to cover interdisciplinary pain management solutions steers patients toward less effective unimodal treatments such as only pharmacotherapy, ultimately helping neither the patient nor the insurer. These reimbursement policies require robust revision to provide optimal, evidence-based pain care. The urgency of coordinated management of this condition must be stressed collectively among stakeholders.
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Schirmer, D., Karri, J., Abd-Elsayed, A. (2020). Economic Burden of Pain. In: Abd-Elsayed, A. (eds) Guide to the Inpatient Pain Consult. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40449-9_37
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