BackgroundEarly identification of individuals at risk of developing persistent pain is important to decrease unnecessary treatment costs and disability. However there is scant comprehensive information readily available to assist clinicians to choose appropriate assessment instruments with sound psychometric and clinical properties.ObjectiveA national insurer commissioned the development of a compendium of assessment instruments to identify adults with, or at-risk of developing, persistent pain. This paper reports on the instrument identification and review process.MethodsA comprehensive systematic literature review was undertaken of assessment instruments for persistent pain of noncancer origin, and their developmental literature. Only assessment instruments which were developed for patients with pain, or tested on them, were included. A purpose-built ‘Ready Reckoner’ scored psychometric properties and clinical utility.ResultsOne hundred sixteen potentially useful instruments were identified, measuring severity, psychological, functional and/or quality of life constructs of persistent pain. Forty-five instruments were short-listed, with convincing psychometric properties and clinical utility. There were no standard tests for psychometric properties, and considerable overlap of instrument purpose, item construct, wording, and scoring.ConclusionNo one assessment instrument captured all the constructs of persistent pain. While the compendium focuses clinicians’ choices, multiple instruments are required for comprehensive assessment of adults with persistent pain.

BackgroundEarly identification in primary care settings of individuals with, or at-risk of, developing persistent pain, is important to limit development of disability. There is little information to assist primary care providers to choose or deliver relevant, efficient, and soundly constructed assessment instruments for this purpose.ObjectiveWe recently published the findings of a literature review, which produced a compendium of assessment instruments to identify adults with, or at-risk of developing, persistent pain of noncancer origin. This paper reports on instruments opportunistically identified during this review which may be appropriate to primary health care settings for early identification of such patients.ResultsOne hundred sixteen potentially useful instruments were initially identified in the review, measuring pain severity, psychological distress, functional capacity, quality of life or multidimensional constructs of persistent pain. Following a series of steps, 45 instruments were shortlisted, with sound clinical utility and strong psychometric properties. Of these, 16 instruments were appropriate to primary health care settings because of simple wording, brief items, short administration time, and ease of scoring.ConclusionNo one assessment instrument captured all constructs of persistent pain. The 16 instruments provide a broad choice for primary care clinicians to assist with early identification of adults at risk of, or with persistent pain.

The use of contemporaneous evaluation in personal injury insurance enables schemes to maintain and enhance their viability through access to quality information on cost, liabilities and outcomes. Best practice in research programs in the sector requires data on client outcomes and financial performance to be collected. This article presents a case study of the research and evaluation program for the National Serious Injury Service of New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation.