A Bi-Monthly Publication |
NEWSLETTER |
Volume 2, Issue 4 |
"But that I can save him from days of torture, that is what I feel as my great ever new previlege. Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself."
--Albert Schweitzer
Pain patients seek
answers. . . . .for understanding the cause of their pain . . . .for
finding possible
relief...for the hope of returning to a more functional way of life.
Often, after prolonged chronic pain, the
patient has developed a significant anxiety about his future and
has a dramatic need for patience, caring,
and a reasonable assurance that help is possible. They also
seek understanding about accessing
specialty care such as pain management and insurance or managed
care coverage of such care.
Advanced Pain Care,
in our efforts to set the standard for cost-effective treatment of acute,
chronic and
neoplastic pain, emphasizes both communication and cooperation among
all involved parties involved in
successful treatment outcome . . .including the patient, the payer
and all relevant providers.
at Advanced
Pain Care. Our intake staff answers all patient questions about our
physicians and programs, insurance issues, scheduling and general
patient concerns. Our nursing staff collects any available
medical records from previous physicians, etc., and completes an extensive
assessment prior to the physician visit. Our physicians carefully
evaluate all available information and perform an extensive examination
before determining the prognosis. After the prognosis is determined,
the treatment plan is recommended and explained thoroughly to the
patient. Our insurance department works diligently with the
patient to explain treatment costs, insurance coverage, and other practical
information that may concern the patient. Our entire staff
is then committed to answering any questions and providing additional
information for the patient before, during, and after treatment.
It is little surprise
that payers are responding favorably to our approach because we utilize
a diagnostic
treatment continuum. After all, our approach to providing
the least invasive, least expensive treatment
appropriate for the diagnosis absolutely meets their stated goals
of reducing costs while providing quality
care. From our interdisciplinary pain program to medical acupuncture
to intrathecal pump implants, our
physicians seek the most effective treatment modality each patient.
Advanced Pain Care communicates
with payers to explain the medical necessity for recommended treatments
for each patient, and we
cooperate with payers to provide the information necessary to assure
the best approach for a successful
treatment outcome.
Provider Coordination
Physicians and
other providers that refer to Advanced Pain Care are specially important
for effective
coordination of the patient treatment and satisfactory outcome .
When any new patient is referred or is
self referred, we communicate quickly with the referring and/or
primary care physician to obtain all
relevant patient records, and we continue regular communication
to update the referral source of the
patient’s progress. We invite referring providers to participate
in our weekly medical team conferences,
and we coordinate our efforts with the patient’s primary physician
to provide ongoing aftercare. Our
physicians invite any questions or opportunities to be a resource
to other physicians, and they encourage
other physicians to visit our facilities on a regular basis.
Our nursing, support, and public relations staffs
constantly assess the needs of our referring provider and provide
recommendation as to how we may
continually improve the services of Advanced Pain Care to meet those
needs.
To help pain patients
find answers they need, Advanced Pain Care continues formal efforts through
our
Quality Assurance Program to improve communication and cooperation.
Advanced Pain Care also
welcomes any feedback or suggestions from our patients, payer, and
the provider community.
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