Treated chronic pain
Chronic pain in the head, back or joints: patients often learn to live with it. They do not know that you can also go to a pain clinic for this kind of ‘normal’ pain. Neither do many GPs, by the way.
The vast majority of the two to three million Dutch people with chronic pain complaints are supervised by their GP. If the treatment he prescribes does not help or does not help sufficiently, he can refer his patient to a pain clinic. Such a clinic where chronic pain is treated is nothing new in itself; the first pain center was established some thirty years ago.
Medical specialty
More than ten years ago, pain treatment also became a separate medical specialty. as you before heart problems If you go to a cardiologist, you can now go to a pain specialist for chronic pain complaints. This is an anesthesiologist who has had an extra six months training in the field of pain medicine.
87 of the 100 hospitals now have a special pain clinic. The range of treatments on offer has increased significantly in recent years. Moreover, there is an increasing multidisciplinary approach to pain problems. That is, anesthesiologists specialized in pain work together with other practitioners – such as physiotherapists, psychologists and neurologists – to get a better result. But despite all that extra attention to pain, not all patients who could benefit from a pain clinic actually end up there.
Missed opportunity
Lower back complaints, migraines, chronic joint complaints or nerve pain: patients often struggle with it for years. They try everything, but nothing seems to help. So they just have to learn to live with it, they think. Few people come up with the idea of going to a pain clinic.
A missed opportunity, says Frank Wille, anaesthesiologist/pain specialist and chairman of the pain medicine section of the Dutch Association of Anesthesiology. In the vast majority of cases, the pain can be effectively treated or at least reduced to an acceptable level (for the patient).
GPs also do not always know where to find the outpatient clinics. This is extra difficult because you need a referral letter for a visit to a pain clinic. “Not all general practitioners are well aware of the treatment options at a pain clinic,” says Wille. “In that case, it may be smart to ask for a referral yourself.”
On the other hand, if everyone who would benefit from this actually knocked on the door of a pain center, there would be a problem. There are not enough pain specialists to treat everyone.
Waiting list
At the moment, all pain clinics together can help between 80,000 and 100,000 patients per year. That seems like a lot, but with two to three million chronic pain patients, that is not nearly enough. That is why the waiting times for pain clinics can be considerable, from a minimum of six weeks to a maximum of eight months.
Pain consultation hours
In some cases, an independent clinic with a pain consultation can offer a solution. There is usually no waiting time there, but the treatment options are often limited (for example, only aimed at back problems). Due to the great shortage of pain specialists, the waiting lists will not be resolved for the time being. But according to Wille, that is no reason not to report to a pain clinic. “You don’t have to worry about being seen as a whiner,” he says. “Pain treatment is not a luxury, but a basic provision to which all patients are entitled.”
A, B or C policy
The Dutch Society of Anesthesiology has classified all pain clinics into categories A, B or C, with C being the highest. The layout says something about the size and the organization, not about the quality. All pain clinics provide you with a good diagnosis of the pain symptoms, but category A clinics cannot always provide all the necessary treatments, for example, because they are too small for this. In that case they refer. Category C clinics carry out scientific research in addition to pain treatments.
Where are they?
• At the Dutch Society for Anesthesiology you can download a list of accredited pain clinics.
• Independent clinics offering pain treatments (category A) can be found at the Association of Independent Clinics in the Netherlands.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine