Patients’ Recall of Diagnostic and Treatment Information Improves with Use of the Pain Explanation and Treatment Diagram in an Outpatient Chronic Pain Clinic

Abstract

Educating patients about their condition and treatment plan is an essential component of successful treatment. Patients need to understand their condition, recall treatment suggestions and comply with the treatment protocol. Unfortunately, the method of patient education most commonly used by physicians is verbal teaching and discussion, which leads to poor patient recall. The authors of this article developed the Pain Explanation and Treatment Diagram, a worksheet that the clinician completes with the patient during their first consultation to function as a record of their diagnosis, pain risk factors and an action plan for when pain occurs. In this study, patient recall, among other variables, was assessed as a function of time since first appointment.

Chronic noncancer pain management

“…The RN recorded patient demographic characteristics and assessed the following outcomes: pain intensity, measured using a numerical rating scale (from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more intense pain) 22 ; pain interference, measured using the 7 pain interference sub-items from the Brief Pain Inventory (from 0 to 70, with higher scores indicating more interference with daily living due to pain) 23 ; confidence, using a confidence scale (from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater confidence related to achieving a specific goal selected by the patient) 24 ; and opioid daily dosage, expressed as dose in milligrams of MEQ. The risk of future opioid abuse by a patient was also assessed with the Opioid Risk Tool 25 ; this risk was considered low (score of 3 or lower), moderate (score of 4 to 7), or high (score of 8 or higher).The RN then used motivational interview principles and the Pain Explanation and Treatment Diagram (PETD) tool 26,27 (Appendix 2, available from CFPlus*) to educate patients on modifiable painrelated risk factors. Habits (diet, smoking, alcohol consumption), sleep, exercise, ergonomics, and psychosocial factors were discussed.…”