Effectiveness of a Primary Care Multidisciplinary Treatment for Patients with Chronic Pain Compared with Treatment as Usual

To manage chronic pain, multidisciplinary interventions have been increasingly deployed, mostly in secondary or tertiary care settings. Evidence on the effectiveness of multidisciplinary intervention within primary care is scarce. This study examined the effectiveness of a primary care multidisciplinary treatment for chronic pain compared with treatment as usual (TAU). The intervention consisted of pain neuroscience education and treatment by a GP, psychologist, and physiotherapist. Both groups filled out patient-reported outcome measures at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. The results indicated there were no statistically significant differences for the primary outcomes of pain intensity, number of pain sites, and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). There was a statistically significant difference in the secondary outcome perceived health change in favor of the intervention group. None of the other differences were statistically significant. A post-hoc analysis showed that there were statistically significant effects on patients’ illness perceptions in favor of the intervention group. Based on the results, the findings do not support effectiveness of a low intensity outpatient multidisciplinary primary care treatment to treat chronic pain compared with TAU. However, as a result of several study limitations, it is considered unwarranted to conclude that multidisciplinary treatment in primary care is not valuable at all.