Emergencies

By definition, there are no emergencies in chronic pain management. If you have a new pain (Acute Pain), or a change in your usual chronic pain, this will have to be evaluated by your Primary Care Physician (PCP), or your nearest Emergency Room (ER). From time to time, you will have flare-ups (worsening) of your usual pain. This does not constitute an emergency. If you wish, you can request an earlier appointment, or to be added to our “cancellation/waiting list”, in an attempt to be seen earlier. For the most part, you should attempt to identify what brought up the exacerbation, and during your next appointment, an attempt should be made at coming up with a plan on what to do for those occasions. Walking into the clinic without an appointment, and demanding to be seen is disruptive, inappropriate, and unacceptable, and may lead to dismissal from our program.

Acceptable or True Emergencies

1. Problems after a procedure:

· Prolonged bleeding

· Redness and swelling around the procedure site

· Fever

· Prolonged weakness or numbness (more than 4 to 6 hours after the procedure)

· Shortness of breath

· Difficulty breathing

· Paralysis

· Being too sleepy

· Disorientation

· Urinary or fecal incontinence of new onset (Bowel or Bladder Problems), etc.

2. Problems after starting a new medication:

· Allergic reactions

· Difficulty breathing

· Rash

· Swelling

· Severe nausea and vomiting

· Disorientation

· Severe sedation or being too sleepy; etc.

Note: If you have any of these, you should immediately stop the medication. If symptoms are severe, seek help at the nearest Emergency Room (ER).

In both instances, you should first go to the nearest Emergency Room (ER), and then have the physician there give us a call. Other physician calls are the only type that we will immediately attend to.

Unacceptable Emergencies

· Running out of medications is not an emergency!

· Narcotic withdrawals is not an emergency! Uncomfortable, yes, but not an emergency.