Düsseldorf/Kiel, November 14, 2022. The Kiel Pain Clinic was awarded first place nationwide in the Patient Dialogue Award Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach at the opening ceremony of the German Hospital Conference . The award recognizes hospitals that strengthen and improve the situation and role of patients and their families in an outstanding way nationwide through information, participation, and shared decision-making. The Kiel Pain Clinic was honored for its exemplary, comprehensive information and education of patients with chronic pain conditions. The focus is on communication and self-help work in the area of ​​migraines and headaches. The patron of the award is Stefan Schwartze , Member of Parliament and Federal Government Commissioner for Patient Affairs. A distinguished independent jury decided on the winner. The award was established by the Federal Association of Patient Advocates in Hospitals and the Federal Association for Complaint Management in Healthcare Facilities . It recognizes healthcare facilities that maintain exemplary dialogue with patients and their families.

Migraines and chronic headaches are the most common causes of chronic pain problems in humans. Headaches are the most widespread chronic illness. They have serious consequences for those affected in all areas of life. They are of great importance to society and the common good due to their social and economic repercussions. "Migraines and headaches often persist for decades and consume significant portions of a person's life. Those affected must attend school, complete their studies, pursue their vocational training and careers, be there for their families, raise their children, and fulfill their social responsibilities. Unpredictable, severe attacks occur repeatedly and can last for several days. Appointments, meetings, and obligations cannot be kept. In this environment, most sufferers are unable to regularly attend local self-help groups, which would require an additional time commitment," explained Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel, founder and head physician of the Kiel Pain Clinic, at the award ceremony presented by the Federal Minister of Health.

Based on these experiences, the Kiel Pain Clinic established the first digital self-help forum in recent years to inform and educate migraine and headache patients. These digital self-help groups enable those affected to communicate and exchange information with each other at any time. This nationwide patient dialogue, now with over 25,000 active members, provides up-to-date information on the prevention and treatment of headaches and migraines. Furthermore, the social networks are visited daily by approximately 40,000 people nationwide who seek information on all aspects of self-help for migraines and headaches. The forum and the social community are managed and moderated by Bettina Frank, Chairwoman of the nationwide self-help organization Migraine and Headache Community e.V.

The Kiel Pain Clinic moderates the numerous individual inquiries, calls for help, and discussions on a voluntary basis. This enables rapid and effective access to modern, nationwide care that specifically aims to alleviate pain. The digital patient dialogue counteracts social isolation. Many sufferers are unable to leave their homes due to severe pain and rely on digital media for support, especially in such situations. In recent years, the Kiel Pain Clinic's patient dialogue has become a nationwide resource for many socially isolated patients. The digital network provides individualized information, facilitates treatment, and connects with regional pain centers within the nationwide headache treatment network, also organized by the Kiel Pain Clinic, to ensure access to modern care.

Patients and their families are also brought together directly in person. The Kiel Pain Clinic regularly organizes regional and nationwide self-help meetings. Networking between self-help groups and doctors, therapists, and clinics is also a key focus of the patient dialogue. The Kiel Pain Clinic is committed to ensuring that new knowledge, research findings, and treatment concepts are discussed in patient dialogue, thus directly incorporating the patients' perspective into research projects. This benefits not only the patients themselves, but also scientists and their research.

A key component of this commitment is informing the public through lectures, seminars, and both print and digital media. Experts regularly participate as speakers and organizers of patient events in collaboration with self-help groups. A comprehensive guide for those affected has also been published, directly disseminating extensive knowledge to the general public. This guide is now in its 9th edition and has been continuously expanded and updated.

Another key tool in patient dialogue is the migraine app developed by the Kiel Pain Clinic in collaboration with the Techniker Krankenkasse (a German health insurance company). It is provided free of charge and is now used by more than half a million people in Germany. Integrating the migraine app into active healthcare leads to demonstrably significant benefits for patients and improved communication between experts and those affected. In addition, nationwide digital networking is facilitated through self-help communities via Facebook groups and the Headbook community, thereby creating a new digital form of self-help group organization. The Kiel Pain Clinic's patient dialogue also focuses on migraine and headache prevention in schools, universities, and workplaces. Teaching materials and educational resources have been developed for this purpose. Patient dialogue is a crucial means of alleviating pain and social isolation for the many sufferers. Suffering is reduced, and costs are lowered.

The Kiel Pain Clinic

The Kiel Pain Clinic was founded in 1997 as a scientific model project at Kiel University Hospital by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel and contractually supported by AOK Schleswig-Holstein (a German health insurance company). In cooperation with Techniker Krankenkasse (a German health insurance company), the concept was then adapted for nationwide care, and an innovative outpatient and inpatient treatment network with over 400 independent pain therapists across Germany was initiated. Today, the clinic operates as a nationwide center for multimodal pain therapy, collaborating with regional pain therapists in private practices and hospitals through coordinated treatment plans. The clinic treats over 1,800 inpatients and 8,000 outpatients annually from all over Germany. To ensure care is available to all patients, the clinic was included in the national hospital plan at the end of 2013.

The treatment concept focuses on neurological pain disorders such as migraines, chronic headaches, and other pain conditions resulting from diseases of the nervous system. These are among the ten most disabling conditions and, after dementia and stroke, among the three most expensive neurological diseases. Traditional sectoral boundaries in care and medical specialties exacerbate their tendency to become chronic.

The core of the approach is multimodal pain therapy, meaning the consistent, interdisciplinary application of international scientific knowledge and differentiated service requirements to meet the needs of patients, indication-specific cooperation among specialized practitioners, and networking. The goal is to sustainably alleviate pain, restore quality of life, and enable the patient to return to work. The clinic has received numerous awards for its innovative treatment concept, including the prize for the best implementation of integrated care in Germany.

All available national and international knowledge for the treatment of chronic pain is currently and will continue to be made directly accessible to patients, with a highly specialized approach that addresses the specific needs of people with chronic pain. In addition, attention is being paid to research into neurological pain disorders, migraines, and other headaches in order to further improve future treatments. Collaboration between innovative health insurance companies, specialists, and patients has enabled exemplary progress in care nationwide, extending beyond standard services. This progress must be maintained and expanded. Patient dialogue always plays a central role in this process.

Contact address:
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel,
Pain Clinic Kiel,
Heikendorfer Weg 9-27,
D-24149 Kiel, Germany.
Telephone: +49 431 200 99 150
, Fax: +49 431 200 99 109
, Email: hg@schmerzklinik.de,
Web: www.schmerzklinik.de