Impact of Electronic Chronic Pain Questions on patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization, and attitudes toward eCPQ use among patients and physicians: prospective pragmatic study in a US general practice setting

Lois Lamerato; Vinay Shah; Lucy Abraham; Joseph C Cappelleri; Bonnie DeLor; Stacy R Ellsworth; Rozelle Hegeman-Dingle; Peter W Park

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.933975

Impact of Electronic Chronic Pain Questions on patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization, and attitudes toward eCPQ use among patients and physicians: prospective pragmatic study in a US general practice setting

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Jun 22:10:933975. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.933975. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Lois Lamerato¹, Vinay Shah¹, Lucy Abraham², Joseph C Cappelleri³, Bonnie DeLor⁴, Stacy R Ellsworth¹, Rozelle Hegeman-Dingle⁴, Peter W Park⁴

Affiliations

¹ Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
² Pfizer Ltd., Tadworth, Surrey, United Kingdom.
³ Pfizer Inc., Newington, CT, United States.
⁴ Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, United States.

Abstract

Objective: The Electronic Chronic Pain Questions (eCPQ) has been developed to help healthcare providers systematically capture chronic pain data. This study evaluated the impact of using the eCPQ on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in a primary care setting, and patient and physician perceptions regarding use of, and satisfaction with, the eCPQ.

Methods: This was a prospective pragmatic study conducted at the Internal Medicine clinic within the Henry Ford Health (HFH) Detroit campus between June 2017 and April 2020. Patients (aged ≥18 years) attending the clinic for chronic pain were allocated to an Intervention Group to complete the eCPQ in addition to regular care, or a control group to receive regular care only. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and a Patient Global Assessment were assessed at baseline, 6-months, and 12-months study visits. HCRU data were extracted from the HFH database. Telephone qualitative interviews were conducted with randomly selected patients and physicians who used the eCPQ.

Results: Two hundred patients were enrolled, 79 in each treatment group completed all 3 study visits. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in PROs and HCRU between the 2 groups. In qualitative interviews, physicians and patients reported the eCPQ as useful, and using the eCPQ improved patient-clinician interactions.

Conclusion: Adding the eCPQ to regular care for patients with chronic pain did not significantly impact the PROs assessed in this study. However, qualitative interviews suggested that the eCPQ was a well-accepted and potentially useful tool from a patient and physician perspective. By using the eCPQ, patients were better prepared when they attended a primary care visit for their chronic pain and the quality of patient-physician communication was increased.

Keywords: Electronic Chronic Pain Questions; chronic pain; eCPQ; healthcare resource utilization; patient-reported outcomes; primary care setting.