For referring providers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the range of services you provide?

Services include:

• Consultations, medication stabilization
• Interventional procedures
• Education and tools/training to build coping skills
• Persistent pain physical therapy evaluation and treatment
• Persistent pain behavioral medicine evaluation and brief treatment
   

What is the wait time for a patient to be seen there?

The wait time fluctuates, 4 weeks to 12 weeks to see a medical provider is common.  Patient may see behavioral health provider or physical therapy prior to medical evaluation depending on the nature of the referral.

I don’t prescribe pain medication. Do you provide medication management?

We do not provide longitudinal medication management. If needed, we may work to stabilize a medication regimen, with the understanding that long-term prescribing be transferred back to the referring provider or PCP. If you will not prescribe a stable low dose opioid or other pain related medications, then a consultation may not be helpful.

Do you prescribe Buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex, Belbuca, BuTrans)?

Yes, we prescribe these products for the management of chronic pain when appropriate. In the case of untreated substance use disorder, we would defer to addiction medicine specialists. Buprenorphine products such as Suboxone are offered to patients who have struggled with a conservative opioid taper AND do not have a primary diagnosis of an active Substance Use Disorder (SUD).  Like other medication regimens, the expectation is that long-term prescribing will be transferred back to the referring provider or PCP. In the case of active, untreated SUD, we would defer to an addictionologist (addiction medicine).
 

Do you manage Worker’s Compensation claims?

We do accept Worker’s Compensation patients. However, we do not act as the attending physician. 
 

What is the opioid prescribing philosophy?

Opioids are not a front-line therapy for chronic pain. Many patients who have been on chronic opioid therapy find that their pain is similar or better on little or no opioid.  Regardless, we encourage a multimodal approach to chronic pain management, which may or may not include low-dose opioids.