The involvement of a primary care doctor in the process of pain treatment and the quality of life of patients

Background
When the pain felt by the patient loses its alarming function, it becomes an element significantly reducing the quality of life. Due to the frequency of occurrence of pain in the population and its impact on various aspects of patients’ lives, this is a problem that doctors often encounter in primary care clinics.

Objectives
The aim of this study was to show the relationship between the involvement of the primary care physician in the therapeutic process of pain treatment and the level of subjective and objective quality of life of patients. Efforts were also made to review the situation regarding the treatment of pain with pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods used by both patients and doctors.

Material and methods
The study included 191 patients and 37 doctors. Separate surveys were prepared for both groups. Additionally, among patients, an EQ-5D-5L questionnaire was carried out. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS 25 program.

Results
The involvement of a doctor in the treatment of pain moderately correlates with a higher level of quality of life, both subjective and objective. There was no correlation between satisfaction with the physician’s involvement in the therapeutic process and the level of experienced pain.

Conclusions
Although the primary care doctor has a limited ability to control the therapeutic process of his patients’ pain, it is important to be involved in the treatment process, because it is associated with an increased quality of life, patient’s satisfaction with the primary care doctor and a reduced level of pain.