New Study Finds One-Third of Patients Experience Uncontrolled Postoperative Pain

SAN DIEGO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An abstract and poster publication of a study from Millennium Health, a leading health solutions company, measured the incidence of uncontrolled postoperative pain in the inpatient setting. The study found that approximately 33 percent of patients were treated with injectable opioids for uncontrolled postoperative pain, varying within a range of 26 to 76 percent based on type of surgery.

"Though pain is a predictable consequence of surgery, there's been numerous studies in recent years that have shown that postoperative pain is often undertreated," said Rami Ben-Joseph, PhD, senior vice president, health outcomes research, Millennium Health. "This is concerning because mismanaged pain can cause adverse health outcomes like pulmonary complications or the development of chronic pain."

The study used billing data from the QuintilesIMS Hospital Charge Data Master database, and the administration of three or more different injectable opioid products on the same day of surgery was used as a proxy to measure for uncontrolled postoperative pain.

"In recent years, there's been increased attention on improving postoperative pain management, but multiple patient factors can make this difficult. One factor that hasn't been fully explored is the variability of medication response that's due to genetics. There is a potential for pharmacogenetics to help address the continuing problem of postoperative pain by helping clinicians to optimize the selection and dosing of pain medications," said Dr. Ben-Joseph.

The poster will be available for viewing at the Westin Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Thursday, March 9, from 5:15 to 7 pm.

About Millennium Health
Millennium Health is a leading health solutions company that delivers accurate, timely, clinically actionable information to inform the right treatment decisions for each patient. The company shares a unified belief that everyone has the right to safe and effective treatment and aims to deliver on that idea by providing clinicians and payers with effective tools and information to reach that goal. Millennium Health offers a comprehensive suite of services including Millennium PGT^SM, Millennium UDT^SM and Millennium OFT^SM, which can be used to better tailor patient care. More information can be found at www.millenniumhealth.com.

SOURCE Millennium Health, LLC