Pain clinics usually pressure patients into costly and invasive procedures, such as epidural steroid injections, radio-frequency ablations, spinal cord stimulators, or intrathecal pain pumps. At OMG, we do not perform ANY interventional procedures because we do not believe these procedures provide much long-term benefit for most chronic pain patients.
We focus instead on close monitoring of opioid prescriptions. The major drawback of using opioids is the propensity for developing addiction to opioids. However, as an addiction clinic, we monitor and prescribe opioids very carefully to minimize the likelihood of addictions developing, catch any abuse issues early to prevent addiction, and treat addiction appropriately when we find it.
Patients are sometimes surprised or confused that we do not review their MRIs, CT scans, or surgical reports. This is because we do not actually attempt to diagnose or treat the underlying conditions causing your pain. We do not offer to treat your degenerative discs, arthritis, pinched nerves, etc. All we do is to manage your pain medications to make sure they are being taken properly and appropriately, to maximize safety. However, just doing this has become so complicated that most doctors will no longer manage opioid prescriptions.
The major focus for our clinic is not merely pain relief but safety. We do everything we can to maintain safety, but it must be recognized that there is no way to make opioids totally safe. Opioids can impair you, addict you, or kill you. Women of childbearing age must be aware that using opioids while pregnant can lead to the baby being born dependent on opioids, suffering terrible withdrawal symptoms after birth.
Many patients take their medications as directed, but some do not. We strive to provide care from one end of the spectrum to the other.
In today's regulatory climate around the prescribing of pain medications, many patients with genuine pain have a lot of anxiety around their medications. Among their worries are:
losing their prescriber, or being forced off their medications due to doctors' fears of regulations
difficulties finding someone else willing to prescribe opioids, if they lose their source of opioids necessary to maintain quality of life
being forced to undergo injections or other invasive procedures in order to get their pain medications
fearing they have lost, or are losing, control of their pain medications but afraid of telling their physician for fear of being cut off
At Opioid Management Group, we provide the best possible care in THREE different dimensions: 1. Safety
we seek to educate patients regarding the risks of opioid medications
we seek to minimize opioid dosages by maximizing non-pharmacologic pain therapies and non-narcotic options
we seek to minimize dangerous drug interactions
2. Stability
we work with your other physicians or dentists when you need surgery, dental work, ER visits, hospitalizations, elective surgeries, etc.
we help patients negotiate prior authorizations with insurance companies, planning for medication refills during out-of-state vacation, work restrictions, etc.
we do not abandon patients when problems arise, such as
temporary interruptions in insurance coverage
if urine drug tests come back inconsistent or we suspect/detect addiction or abuse. We do not "fire" patients or stop pain medications abruptly (unless medications are being sold) but we might
offer alternate treatments, including addiction therapies
wean the patient off drugs if we are unable to continue treatment
refer the patient to a detox facility
we work with your other physicians or dentists when you need surgery, dental work, ER visits, hospitalizations, elective surgeries, etc.
3. Compassionate Care
we view drug addiction as a disease that needs to be treated, rather than as a moral failing
we view people addicted to drugs as patients in need of treatment, rather than as dangerous criminals or unworthy people
all too often, drug addiction is an unintended outcome or side-effect of opioid therapy
when we identify drug addiction, we provide seamless transition from treating pain to treating addiction. Oftentimes, patients are relieved when they are "found out" because they can then get help rather than continue to try to deceive their physicians