Effects of a Patient Driven Assessment Process With Complex Pain Patients

The objective of this study is to engage patients with chronic pain and other key stakeholders in an iterative process of pilot-testing a validated patient generated instrument, the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP), to support primary care encounters and provide a direct comparison between a strategy of incorporating patient reported outcomes into the package of care for complex pain patients and usual care. The specific aims of this phase of the project are to: 1) adapt the MYMOP for use in the primary care setting well-integrated into everyday practice flow, and 2) evaluate whether the utilization of the MYMOP data in routine primary care encounters results in improvements in patient symptoms and functioning over time as well as increased satisfaction with the visit for patients and primary care providers. To achieve Aim 2, the investigators will compare the reported outcomes and health care utilization from participating patients in this study for whom the MYMOP-based instrument will be used in routine clinical care to a matched group of chronic pain patients who will not receive the MYMOP-based assessment but will otherwise have similarly collected data. This also allows us to evaluate of the extent to which use of the tool adds patient-centered information to more conventional instruments. In addition to these two aims, for a third aim, the investigators plan to collect qualitative data from patients, their family members, Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) health care providers, and KPNW administrators to better understand the needs of this subpopulation of patients.