Pre-Visit Education on Pain Management Options Prior to the First Clinic Visit Improves Chronic Pain Patient Satisfaction with Proposed Treatment Plans

• Published in: Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) Vol. 22; no. 11; pp. 2566 - 2574
• Main Authors: Unnithan, Ajay S, Chidgey, Brooke A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.11.2021
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care; Care and treatment; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - therapy; Clinical decision making; Evaluation; Humans; Medical appointments; Methods; Pain; Pain Clinics; Pain Management; Patient care planning; Patient compliance; Patient education; Patient outcomes; Patient Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Goals of Care; Patient Education; Patient Expectations; Chronic Pain Management
• ISSN: 1526-2375; 1526-4637
• DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnab198

Abstract Objective This study sought to evaluate if actively informing new chronic pain patients about treatment options and setting realistic expectations for care, through the use of a pre-visit informational handout prior to the first clinic visit, improved patient satisfaction with subsequently proposed treatment plans. Methods The study was divided into two 3-month periods. During the first 3 months, with our current pain clinic practices in place, new patients (n = 147) were given surveys to establish a baseline of patient satisfaction with treatment plans proposed on their first visit. During the second 3 months, a different group of new patients (n = 156) was given a detailed informational handout which described our clinic’s multimodal approach to pain management and therapeutic expectations prior to their visit with a provider. Patient satisfaction with subsequently proposed treatment plans was then assessed and compared with the baseline group. Results The average patient satisfaction score for the group of patients given the informational handout was 4.21 (on a 5-point Likert scale), compared to an average score of 3.25 for the baseline group (P < .0001, unpaired t-test). 77.6% of patients given the informational handout said their proposed treatment plan met their expectations compared to 46.3% of patients in the baseline group (χ2= 31.61, two-tailed P < .0001). Conclusions Patient satisfaction with proposed chronic pain treatment plans was improved when clinic approaches to pain were explicitly outlined and therapeutic expectations were clearly established in the form of an informational handout at the outset of the first visit.