Headache Patients: Doctors want to help, but still lack the tools

I’ve spent many years writing for both doctors and patients. And although most of us have had bad experiences with some doctors, I’ve also defended and promoted doctors in general, because I believe that they are important allies and that they usually truly want to help.

A recent study from Spain confirms what I’ve heard from many sources over the years – doctors do want to help, but they still often lack the tools and training.

This particular study focused on primary care doctors in a specific region. “Primary care” would include your family doctor. So what did we learn?

First, doctors generally want to help headache patients. 68.3% (over 2/3) expressed a high or very high interest in headache conditions, and just over 3/4 (75.9%) were interested in further training.

Remember, these are not headache specialists. And although I would encourage you to see a specialist, many of us will spend some of our time with our family doctor. So it’s encouraging to know that even these doctors tend to be especially interested in headache conditions – very important, because they’re so common.

The study also discovered that doctors tended to spend more time with headache patients. That might not sound “fair” at first, but remember that headache can be very difficult to diagnose properly, and it does take time to really understand why the patient is in pain. So although I don’t have a complete view of how much time doctors are spending with various patients, it is encouraging to know that headache patients are not being brushed off with the “take two aspirin” line. (Yes, I know that does happen! But very often it does not.)

But there was a side to the study which was concerning. Only 32.7% of primary care doctors were using the International Classification of Headache Disorders (currently ICHD-3) to diagnose headache.

The ICHD is an international attempt to standardize the way that we study and diagnose headache conditions. In other words, it’s not just used in the doctor’s office, it’s also used in clinical trials. So it may make a big difference when it comes to how a patient is diagnosed and then treated, because we have an emerging picture of which treatments can help specific types of headache.

Using the ICHD doesn’t mean you have to agree with every detail, or use the same treatment as every other doctor. But it is a way to start, and a way to measure the results you’re seeing with others around the world.

So the bottom line? Doctors want to help, but they still lack important tools. However, they are interested in learning more. If you’re a doctor, look for training opportunities in your area (here are some ideas). If you’re a patient, you might want to discuss the ICHD with your doctor, to see what type of headache condition you have according to this important standard.

Read the study abstract here: Headache as a reason for consultation: the primary care perspective