117 Epidemiology, Outcome and Costs in a Managed Regional Chronic Back Pain Network

Abstract

s, 5th EFIC Congress, Invited Presentations EFIC and IASP have launched an effort to establish the right to receive therapy for pain as a basic human right. Moreover, chronic pain carries an enormous socio-economic burden both for those who suffer from it, and for society at large. Throughout the European countries, health care budgets are strained by the combined effects of progress in medical research (in most cases innovative treatment is expensive) and increasing demand by an ageing population. In this situation, various medical problems such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, chronic pain, dementia, and many more have to compete for allocation of adequate funding for prevention, treatment and research. In this situation, adequate epidemiological data collection is of utmost importance. In this Topical Seminar, three eminent speakers will cover the epidemiology of the most frequent chronic pain conditions. They will address data on frequency of the respective condition in the population, impact on quality of life, and treatment outcome, but they will also cover economic aspects such as lost income and health care costs. Most of the time of this seminar will be reserved for discussion, which shall cover methodological aspects of data collection, adequate ways of presenting findings to the general public, and strategies to influence health care policies.

Epidemiologie und Outcome bei Patienten mir Rückenschmerzen im Netzwerk Schmerzzentrum Tutzing

“…Die geographische Verteilung der Schmerzkliniken und Schmerztageskliniken in Bayern zeigt wie in Abbildung 13 dargestellt (Thoma et al 2006), dass obwohl der Bedarf sehr hoch war und ständig weiter steigt, da die chronischen Rückenschmerzerkrankungen in der Bevölkerung zunehmen, eine optimale Versorgung vorwiegend in den Ballungsräumen, in und um die Universitätskliniken, gewährleistet ist.…”