Chronic pain costs an estimated $635 billion per year in direct medical costs, indirect costs of care, unpaid caregiving, lost productivity and lost wages. The quest for chronic pain diagnoses and treatment can be costly, inefficient and frustrating. Patients with chronic pain are more likely to visit doctors, other healthcare providers and emergency rooms than other patients. The tangible costs add up for health insurers, patients and society at large. The cost to individual patients may be incalculable.