Addressing stakeholders' needs: economics and patient satisfaction.

PURPOSE: The economics of acute post-operative pain management are discussed. Studies identifying cost drivers in post-operative pain treatment and the economic sequelae of undertreated pain are reviewed. The relative costs of intermittent intramuscular analgesia, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, and epidural analgesia are described. Medication errors and their consequences are addressed. The importance of patient satisfaction and data on its correlation with acute post-operative pain are reviewed. SUMMARY: Although the economics of acute post-operative pain treatment are difficult to accurately assess, studies have demonstrated that pharmacy acquisition costs represent as little as 1% of the total hospital cost of surgical treatment. Costs of analgesia are driven largely by staff time. Inadequate treatment of post-operative pain can have important economic ramifications associated with increased patient morbidity, extended hospital stays, and readmissions. Inadequate treatment of post-operative pain is also associated with reduced patient satisfaction, a measure of increasing importance to health systems and pharmacists who practice within them. CONCLUSION: Undertreatment of acute post-operative pain has important implications for health systems from the standpoints of economics and patient satisfaction.