1. [Pain clinics within Austrian hospitals, for patients with pathologies of the locomotor system. Analysis of care and comparison with Germany].
- Author
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Latta HJ, Wepner F, Hahne J, and Friedrich M
- Subjects
- Ambulatory Care economics, Ambulatory Care statistics & numerical data, Austria, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Delivery of Health Care economics, Delivery of Health Care statistics & numerical data, Economics, Medical, Germany, Health Surveys, Humans, Medicine statistics & numerical data, Musculoskeletal Diseases economics, Musculoskeletal Diseases epidemiology, National Health Programs economics, National Health Programs statistics & numerical data, Pain economics, Pain epidemiology, Pain Clinics economics, Pain Clinics organization & administration, Patient Admission economics, Patient Admission statistics & numerical data, Patient Care Team economics, Patient Care Team statistics & numerical data, Specialization, Surveys and Questionnaires, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Musculoskeletal Diseases therapy, Pain Clinics statistics & numerical data, Pain Management
- Abstract
This paper gives a comparative overview of the current clinical care of patients experiencing pain in the musculoskeletal system in Austria and in Germany. The questionnaire used in this study was modified from one used in a survey carried out in Germany in 2002. In our version we asked specifically about pain in the musculoskeletal system. In all 228 health care facilities were reviewed, 56.6% of which offer at least one option for pain therapy. In Austria, the majority of patients with pain in the musculoskeletal system are treated by specialists in the departments of anaesthesiology, internal medicine, and orthopaedics. In 17.4% of the clinics in Austria there are plans to extend the pain therapy they offer, but in over half of the hospitals that responded facilities for pain therapy are considered to be vulnerable. The study highlights a significant higher percentage of in-patient pain therapy services in Austria, while in Germany, in contrast, there are more outpatient options for pain therapy. The quality of pain therapy could by further improved by more intense cooperation between the inpatient and outpatient sectors and by the establishment of interdisciplinary and multimodal solutions.
- Published
- 2008
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