The findings show that there is excellent evidence of effectiveness for some common treatments for chronic pain, good evidence that some treatments are without effect, and a lack of evidence of effectiveness for some commonly-used treatments.
With regard to costing services, chronic pain units may save the National Health Service substantial sums by caring for patients and minimising unnecessary consultations and investigations. Given that there is substantial evidence for efficacy and inefficacy of individuals interventions, the ideal would be for a process analysis approach to chronic pain services. This could well establish a model for other chronic services.