E-health reduces patient pain, opioids in clinical study

A web-based “e-health” program helped extra folks with power ache scale back their opioid drugs and ache depth than a management group that had solely common remedy in a current medical research.

Within the research printed within the journal Ache, about 400 individuals who had been prescribed long-term opioid remedy for his or her ache have been divided into two teams: one obtained remedy as normal and one other obtained remedy and entry to a self-guided, e-health program. Of the e-health group, greater than half, 53.6%, have been in a position to scale back their opioid drugs by 15% or extra after six months in comparison with 42.3% of sufferers within the management group.

“These have been very encouraging findings: not solely have been they lowering opioids but in addition their ache was not changing into worse,” mentioned Marian Wilson, a Washington State College nursing affiliate professor and the research’s lead creator. “Some persons are hesitant to cease their opioid treatment as a result of they concern their ache will improve, however we discovered that at the least on common on this inhabitants, they may scale back their opioids a bit and never have elevated ache signs.”

An estimated 50 million folks within the U.S. have power ache and about 18 million are prescribed long-term opioid remedy. Since opioid use dangers embody habit and even unintended dying, researchers are trying to find options to assist these sufferers.

At the beginning of this research, all of the individuals rated their power ache at a mean depth of 5 or 6 on a 0 to10 level scale with 10 being essentially the most excessive ache. Power ache can come up from a spread of situations that don’t have any treatment, and the research individuals had a spread of diagnoses together with arthritis, again ache, fibromyalgia and migraines.

On the finish of the research, 14.5% of the e-health group reported that their ache was decreased by 2 factors or extra. Solely 6.8% within the management group had the identical degree of ache lower. The researchers additionally noticed the sufferers improved their ache information, confidence managing ache and coping expertise.

For this research, the researchers used a psychologist-designed e-health program, known as Goalistics Power Ache Administration. This self-guided course goals to assist folks handle their very own ache and its many impacts on their lives. This system accommodates a mixture of ache monitoring instruments, cognitive remedy, train ideas and relationship recommendation in addition to details about opioid use and dangers.

This system gives content material much like what a affected person may obtain from a psychologist who focuses on ache, a remedy that is not simply accessible for everybody, mentioned Wilson.

Whereas related applications exist, the researchers selected this one as a result of it’s extensively accessible within the U.S. and delivered absolutely on-line. Wilson additionally examined the Goalistics program in earlier analysis offering preliminary knowledge for this research’s giant, randomized trial.

Since ache is such an individualized expertise, the authors argue that sufferers can profit from self-management applications to allow them to monitor their ache ranges and experiment with completely different methods.

“The concept is to place the affected person within the driver’s seat as a result of we may give them a prescription for opioids, and that may work for a short time, however over time for power ache, it isn’t often going to be the answer to repair all their troubles,” she mentioned.

Wilson added that power ache sufferers typically have temper, social and bodily functioning points that additionally want consideration.

The findings present extra proof that on-line self-management applications are helpful for power ache sufferers, and a wide range of businesses, together with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, help their widespread use.

On the time of this research, the e-health program had a month-to-month $30 price. Whereas comparatively cheap in comparison with remedy by a ache psychologist, most of these applications aren’t lined by most insurance coverage within the U.S. Different international locations together with Canada and Australia present related applications to sufferers without cost, and Wilson is at present engaged on a challenge that goals to realize better entry within the U.S.

Along with Wilson, research co-authors embody Rowena Dolor of Duke College in addition to Daniel Lewis, Saundra Regan, Mary Beth Vonder Meulen and T. John Winhusen of College of Cincinnati.