Anesthesiology Interventional Pain Physician VA Southern Nevada Healthcare Service, Las Vegas University of Nevada Las Vegas Medical School Las Vegas, Nevada
Interventional pain has proven to be a primary driver for revenue in many interventional pain practices. To maximize revenue, large numbers of procedures are typically done in limited time frames, emphasizing case turnover rather than maximizing the utility of the intervention. Aspects of pain interventions negatively impacted by the 'quick turnover' model are the roles of diagnosis and prognosis. Determining what structure(s) are (or are not) involved in the area targeted during a procedure can guide all providers in the pain management team in their interdisciplinary treatment of the chronic pain patient.
This presentation will present a case for emphasizing the role of diagnosis in interventional pain management procedures. Although this would impact the number of procedures done in terms of turnover and repeat injections (as it relates to 'negative' diagnostic blocks which would support not repeating the injection), it would strengthen the case for their use to multidisciplinary teams and third-party payers.
Learning Objectives:
Alter their practice to ensure pain interventional procedures provide objective guidance for subsequent or concurrent interdisciplinary care
Provide evidence-based justification for the use of diagnostic blocks in chronic pain management
Explain to colleagues, surgeons, allied health pain providers, and third-party payers how diagnostic blocks should influence their approach toward chronic pain management
Understand the limitations of various diagnostic injections
Craft documentation of the procedure in a manner most useful to other/future providers