New Study for use of Acupuncture in Pain Management

For the first time a study has been done about inpatient integrative medicine program in a hospital setting. The study, "The Impact of Integrative Medicine on Pain Management in a Tertiary Care Hospital" was published March 5 in the Journal of Patient Safety.

The study included 1,837 cardiovascular, medical, surgical, orthopedics, spine, rehabilitation, oncology, and women's health patients at Abbott Northwestern between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. These patients were given treatments included non-pharmaceutical services: mind body therapies to elicit the relaxation response, acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, healing touch, music therapy, aromatherapy, and reflexology.

Jeffery A. Dusek, Ph.D., research director for the Penny George Institute for Health said, "Our real-world study broadly shows that these therapies effectively reduce pain by over 50 percent across numerous patient populations. Furthermore, they can be clinically implemented in real time, across, and under the operational and financial constraints within an acute care hospital."


"I think we will find that integrative approaches to pain management during the hospital stay will improve patient satisfaction and outcomes, and we will see cost savings from patients using fewer drugs and experiencing fewer adverse events," said Lori Knutson, RN, BSN, HN-BC, executive director of the George Institute.


Hopefully the other hospitals will follow the lead of Penny George Institute for Health and consider using  non-pharmaceutical methods for pain relief.