TY - JOUR
T1 - Healthcare Cost and Impact of Persistent Orofacial Pain
AU - Durham, Justin
AU - Shen, Jing
AU - Breckons, Matthew
AU - Steele, Jimmy
AU - Araujo-Soares, Vera
AU - Exley, Catherine
AU - Vale, Luke
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Few data are available on the healthcare costs of those suffering from persistent orofacial pain (POFP). This cohort and cost analysis study examined the direct costs of POFP from the perspective of the healthcare provider (specifically, the UK National Health Service) in 2012 pounds sterling and sought to identify whether dichotomized (high, IIb to IV; low, 0 to IIa) graded chronic pain scale (GCPS) status is predictive of the total cost of healthcare over the last 6 mo. The healthcare utilization data of 198 patients with POFP were collected using a structured interview and a validated ?use of services and productivity? questionnaire. Unit costs were used with these utilization data to calculate direct healthcare costs in 3 categories: consultation, medication, and appliances and interventions. Consultation costs were a significant proportion of cumulative healthcare cost (P <0.001). Dichotomized GCPS status was predictive of increased healthcare cost over the last 6 mo, accounting for an average increase of �6 (95% confidence interval, 135 to 598; P <0.01) when moving from a low GCPS status to a high GCPS status. Given the predictive capability of dichotomized GCPS status and the success of stratified models of care for other persistent pain conditions, dichotomized GCPS status may offer an opportunity to help determine stratification of care for patients with POFP.
AB - Few data are available on the healthcare costs of those suffering from persistent orofacial pain (POFP). This cohort and cost analysis study examined the direct costs of POFP from the perspective of the healthcare provider (specifically, the UK National Health Service) in 2012 pounds sterling and sought to identify whether dichotomized (high, IIb to IV; low, 0 to IIa) graded chronic pain scale (GCPS) status is predictive of the total cost of healthcare over the last 6 mo. The healthcare utilization data of 198 patients with POFP were collected using a structured interview and a validated ?use of services and productivity? questionnaire. Unit costs were used with these utilization data to calculate direct healthcare costs in 3 categories: consultation, medication, and appliances and interventions. Consultation costs were a significant proportion of cumulative healthcare cost (P <0.001). Dichotomized GCPS status was predictive of increased healthcare cost over the last 6 mo, accounting for an average increase of �6 (95% confidence interval, 135 to 598; P <0.01) when moving from a low GCPS status to a high GCPS status. Given the predictive capability of dichotomized GCPS status and the success of stratified models of care for other persistent pain conditions, dichotomized GCPS status may offer an opportunity to help determine stratification of care for patients with POFP.
KW - chronic pain
KW - facial pain
KW - healthcare utilization
KW - cost analysis
KW - graded chronic pain scale
KW - quality-of-life
U2 - 10.1177/0022034516648088
DO - 10.1177/0022034516648088
M3 - Article
VL - 95
SP - 1147
EP - 1154
JO - Journal of Dental Research
JF - Journal of Dental Research
SN - 0022-0345
IS - 10
ER -