PRACTICE STYLES
Because the needs of the patient are of a multidisciplinary nature,
the solo practitioner may offer a limited range of evaluation and/or treatment options.
This can be a valuable service to one's referral community, so long as patients
are selected with relevance to the practitioner's expertise. Coordinated multispecialty
practices have an expanded repertoire of evaluation and treatment protocols.
*See references [12]
[13]
[15]
[16]
[21]
[27]
[28]
[30]
[31]
[33]
[34]
.
There is an associated, expected increase in the sophistication of such practices
but clear delineation of the services provided must be shared, as patient selection
continues to be a crucial element.[38]
Outpatient treatment is less expensive and serves more patients
than in-patient pain management programs.[38]
The
thrust of the outpatient treatment is that much of the burden of participation in
all of the recommended therapy is placed squarely on the patient's shoulders. The
challenge is to do so amid the distractions in the home and work environment. Also,
the individual patient must remain self-motivated, as there is no organized framework,
such as there would be in a hospital setting or in a pain management center day program.
That said, the corresponding responsibility of the pain medicine physician is to
educate the referring physicians serving the patient so that a concerted effort in
support of the treatment program is manifested. For many pain centers, the resources
are adequate to provide evaluative consultation on many patients and treatment to
a point of stabilization of the pain. Thereafter, the patient is expected to return
to the referring physician/primary care physician, with more distant input from the
pain medicine practice.
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