Background and aims: The burden associated with chronic pain has a social and economic impact that justifies a new framework for its management.
Pain management consults in primary care units can become a vital component for improving the quality of life of individuals suffering from chronic pain. This will inevitably lead to less disability days and have a major positive impact in the social and economic condition of a country.
Methods: We developed a referral protocol for a primary care unit in Portugal, with approximately 16000 patients. In this protocol, patients are referred to the chronic pain consult by their physician. In this consult the patient is assisted by a primary care physician specialized in pain management, working in the same primary care unit.
This enables a fast-track for patients suffering from chronic pain, offering the patient a rapid first observation in their primary care unit. Furthermore, there is a quicker access to a follow up visit which leads to a greater efficacy in pain relief of these patients.
Results: Over the last 4 years we made aproximately 2000 pain consultions. Our patient´s satisfaction and improvement in quality of life are routinely evaluated. We found that more than 80% of our patients are very satisfied with this consultation and that more then 70% showed a marked improvement in pain scores as well as quality of life indicators.
Conclusions: We think this model could be replicable in other primary care settings, thus helping improve the quality of pain managment.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A PAIN CLINIC IN PRIMARY CARE - A 4 YEAR EXPERIENCE