Consumption of and satisfaction with health care among opioid users with chronic non-malignant pain.
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2015;
59:1355-66. [PMID:
26113028 DOI:
10.1111/aas.12568]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2015] [Revised: 04/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Although persons with chronic pain are frequent users of the health care system, they report poor satisfaction with health care services. Participants with persistent opioid use in Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT)3 report severe pain in spite of treatment. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that subjects with persistent opioid use have both a higher consumption of health care services and a poorer satisfaction than the remaining subjects reporting chronic pain.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study was based on linkage of self-reported data from the substudy (10,238 were invited, 6927 met the inclusion criteria) of health care use in HUNT3; a population-based health survey during the years 2006-2008 and the complete national registers of the Norwegian Prescription Database and the Cancer Registry of Norway. Patients with chronic pain are stratified according to the level of opioid use as persistent users of opioids, intermittent users, and persons not using opioids.
RESULTS
Persons with chronic non-malignant pain reported a higher consumption of all health care services compared to the control group. Consumption of health care services increased with increasing level of opioid use. Persons with persistent opioid use were highly satisfied with all health care services, although less satisfied than persons without chronic pain.
CONCLUSIONS
Combined with previous findings of high levels of pain in spite of opioid treatment, the present findings indicate that symptomatic relief is not a prerequisite for patient satisfaction. The study shows higher patient satisfaction compared to previous studies.
Collapse