Assessing Treatment Effectiveness course for Medical Doctors

This session describes how to compare the effectiveness of different analgesics and explains why combinations of analgesics are usually the most effective.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Compare the effectiveness of different analgesics
• Describe the benefits of additive effects
• Explain why the placebo effect plays an important role in assessing the effectiveness of analgesics
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of fixed and variable dose analgesic combinations
• Describe the role of clinical trials in determining which analgesics are most effective

Given the complexity of identifying the relevant strongest analgesic, it is helpful to all healthcare workers to have a basic knowledge of the methods used to assess the efficacy, i.e. the effectiveness, of analgesics.