The under treatment of pain has been well documented. Contributing to this is 
the limited availability of pain management specialists in many geographic 
areas. The use of technology to provide care to underserved areas is gaining 
momentum. We chose to study whether stable patients and staff in chronic pain 
clinic were satified with the use of a videoconferencing format in care 
delivery. Our goals were to determine whether patients and staff could 
successfully operate the extant videoconferencing equipment, was the equipment 
dependably functional, was the use of a videoconferencing format an acceptable 
method of healthcare delivery for both patients and staff, whether patients and 
staff were satisfied with the process, and whether this was a cost-effective 
mode of care delivery. Thirty-six patients were enrolled over 29 months. 
Questionnaires were administered to staff and patients. Routine pain clinic 
patient assessment tools were administered. Results showed the use of 
videoconferencing for this group of patients is useable and satisfactory for 
both patients and staff, that the patients save time and money, and that for a 
system where videoconferencing equipment is already in use, it is also cost 
effective. Staff were able to identify new patient problems. Some patients would 
prefer to be seen in person but find that the savings in time and money override 
this preference. Hearing impaired patients have difficulty using this medium. 
Dependable equipment and phone connections are needed. A videoconferencing 
clinic format is a clinically acceptable and cost effective method for follow-up 
of stable patients with chronic pain.