The current study was under taken when leaders at a regional healthcare
center in the midwestern part of the United States identified a
significant problem with patients frequenting the emergency department
for chronic pain management. The financial burden imposed by
as few as 9 patients frequenting the ED in a 3-month period was over
500,000U.S. dollars, within this system.Hence, the purpose of this study
was to explore the reasons for frequenting the emergency department
by a random sample of patients for their treatment of chronic
pain. Frequent ED use was defined as 4 or more ED visits in a 3-month
time period.