Three year follow-up of patients with chronic pain who were treated in a multidisciplinary pain management center.

Between September 1979 and October 1982, 408 patients with chronic benign pain were evaluated for admission to a pain management program. Of the 408 patients, 249 completed the program; the success rate at the time of dismissal was 70% among these 249 patients. Of the 239 patients who entered the follow-up study, 87% responded to either a mailed questionnaire or a follow-up telephone call by an independent reviewer at the time of 3 year follow-up; the improvement had been maintained by 46.6% of the successfully treated patients (or a third of the original participants). The present finding is strikingly similar to that in a previous study from this institution - an indication of the long-term efficacy of the multidisciplinary pain management program. Further search for modifications for the existing program is indicated to accommodate the needs of patients who fail initially or cannot maintain the improvement.