• Peter J Koo.
• Pain Management, Department of Pharmaceutical Services and Clinical Pharmacy, University of California-San Francisco, School of Pharmacy, San Francisco, CA 94143-0622, USA. koop@pharmacy.ucsf.edu
• Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2007 Mar 15;64(6 Suppl 4):S11-5.

PurposeThe 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.SummaryAlthough 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.ConclusionUndertreatment of acute post-operative pain has important implications for health systems from the standpoints of economics and patient satisfaction.

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