The second in this two-part series on migrane focuses on how to treat patients to reduce disability and improve quality of life. Expectation is an important driver to treatment and patients and healthcare professionals should be ‘on the same page’. Unfortunately, this is not always true. Packard (1979) found in his study that doctors thought patients wanted pain relief (96%), medication (68%) and explanation (68%), but what patients actually wanted was explanation (77%), pain relief (69%) and a neurological investigation (31%). Ineffective communication leads to dissatisfaction with care and poor adherence to treatment in headache patients (Cottrell et al, 2002). Therefore, it is essential that patients are involved in the decision-making process when deciding on treatment.
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