Anesthesia-based pain services improve the quality of postoperative pain management

Anesthesia-based pain services are facilitating improvements in the quality of care of surgical patients by developing and direction institution-wide perioperative analgesia programs that include interdisciplinary collaborati ons. However, the impact of anesthesia-based pain services has not been eva luated in a systematic fashion. This prospective multisite study (n = 23 ho spitals) utilized a standardized approach to evaluate the quality of pain c are provided to patients who were and who were not cared for by an anesthes ia-based pain service. A total of 5837 patients were evaluated using a stan dardized survey that consisted of a medical record review and a patient int erview. The data were collected as part of the hospitals' quality improveme nt activities. Forty-nine percent of the patients were cared for by an anes thesia-based pain service. Patients who received pain service care reported significantly lower pain intensity scores; had lower levels of pain in the postoperative period; had a lower incidence of pruritus, sedation, and nau sea; and experienced significantly less pain than expected. In addition, th ese patients were more likely to receive patient education about postoperat ive pain management; were more satisfied with their postoperative pain mana gement; and were discharged sooner from the hospital. The findings from thi s study demonstrate that the care provided by anesthesia-based pain service s has a significant impact on patient outcomes. (C) 1999 International Asso ciation for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.