Pain management issues: the cost of medications in rural settings.

Cost of analgesic and adjuvant medications used by rural patients with cancer cared for by 29 nurses participating in an in-depth education program were evaluated before and after the program. Across all time periods, the median daily cost was $5.16 across all medications. Average daily cost and maximum and median cost of all medications were $5.36, $74.38 and $3.58, respectively. Average daily cost did not change over time. Average pain intensity did not change over time and was not related to prescribing patterns or daily costs. While professional education was demonstrated to produce change in prescribing practices, further research is needed to evaluate patterns of medication administration and effectiveness patterns using reliable outcome measures other than self report of pain intensity.