Perceived treatment helpfulness and cost in chronic pain rehabilitation

Objective: This article examines the perceived helpfulness of treatment com ponents in comprehensive interdisciplinary pain management programs as they relate to cost. Design: Patient satisfaction results assessed by the Treatment Helpfulness Questionnaire (THQ) and treatment costs were compared for 309 subjects at t hree comprehensive interdisciplinary chronic pain management centers. All s ubjects completed the THQ immediately after treatment, and follow-up data w ere gathered 3 to 6 months after the end of treatment at two of the three c enters. Results: Ratings of treatment helpfulness were not found to be related to e ither demographic or medical variables. Mean THQ ratings for many treatment modalities did differ significantly between centers, but subjects at all c enters generally gave higher THQ ratings to psychological and educational t herapies than to physical therapy and medical modalities both at posttreatm ent and at follow-up evaluations. More costly treatments generally did not receive higher ratings than less costly ones. THQ ratings tended to decline modestly from posttreatment to follow-up evaluations. Conclusions: For the selected population of patients undergoing comprehensi ve interdisciplinary pain management, educational and psychological approac hes received high ratings of helpfulness at a relatively low cost. Further research is needed to address whether comparative patient satisfaction data can be used at pain centers to produce improved outcomes at reduced costs.