Pain is a significant issue affecting a significant number of Australians and the costs to the individual, society and the country as a whole are huge.
According to Pain Australia’s 2019 report there were 3.24 million Australians living with Australia in 2018.
That is approximately 15% of the population over the age of 15.
The cost of pain is Australia is a staggering $73.2 billion per year, comprising of:
- $12.2 billion in health system costs
– $48.3 billion in productivity losses
– $12.7 billion in other financial costs, such as informal care, aids and modifications and deadweight losses.
In addition to this, people with chronic pain also experience a substantial reduction in their quality of life, valued at an additional $66.1 billion.
The costs of chronic pain are expected to increase from $139.3 billion in 2018 to $215.6 billion by 2050 in real 2018 dollars (in the absence of changes to treatment or prevalence rates, and assuming that unit costs remain constant in real terms).
Pain also cost 823 Australians their lives last year through the misuse of prescription opioids. That is a greater number than lives lost due to heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs.
Change is needed and an extension of best practice care to Australian patients could lead to substantial savings and better health outcomes. Please click on the link below to see Pain Australia’s recommendations to the Australian Government, in the country’s first National Strategic Action Plan, released June 11 2019.
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Pain is a significant issue affecting a significant number of Australians and the costs to the individual, society and the country as a whole are huge.
According to Pain Australia’s 2019 report there were 3.24 million Australians living with Australia in 2018.
That is approximately 15% of the population over the age of 15.
The cost of pain is Australia is a staggering $73.2 billion per year, comprising of:
- $12.2 billion in health system costs
– $48.3 billion in productivity losses
– $12.7 billion in other financial costs, such as informal care, aids and modifications and deadweight losses.
In addition to this, people with chronic pain also experience a substantial reduction in their quality of life, valued at an additional $66.1 billion.
The costs of chronic pain are expected to increase from $139.3 billion in 2018 to $215.6 billion by 2050 in real 2018 dollars (in the absence of changes to treatment or prevalence rates, and assuming that unit costs remain constant in real terms).
Pain also cost 823 Australians their lives last year through the misuse of prescription opioids. That is a greater number than lives lost due to heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs.
Change is needed and an extension of best practice care to Australian patients could lead to substantial savings and better health outcomes. Please click on the link below to see Pain Australia’s recommendations to the Australian Government, in the country’s first National Strategic Action Plan, released June 11 2019.
