Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current wait-time for enrollment?
We are currently in the enrollment process for the first 160 referrals. For patients referred past this we anticipate a 3months wait time before being contacted.
What if my condition is urgent?
We do not enroll or treat chronic pain on an urgent basis. All referrals will be attended to in the order in which they are received. Please discuss this concern with your Primary Care Provider and seek alternative options.
What if my pain is suddenly worse?
We do not treat acute pain, or acute on chronic pain. Please seek your Primary Care Provider for management.
What if an injection has caused increased pain or swelling?
You are encouraged to contact the radiology company who provided the injection to report this side effect. Sometimes a "cortisone flare" may occur within 2 weeks of a steroid injection causing increased pain before pain relief kicks in.
Rarely there can be infections stemming from injections. Please also seek advice from your Primary Care Provider.
What if I am having a reaction to a medication?
If the medication has been prescribed from our clinic, it would have come with a list of comprehensive side effects. These side effects would be discussed with you when we offer the medication to you.
If you suspect a serious medication side effect. Stop the medication immediately. If you seriously ill even after stoping, please go to the emergency department.
You can also discuss side effects with your Pharmacist or Primary Care Provider.
On the days that we are operating, our nurse or nurse practitioner can potentially also offer support both virtually and in-person.
Can you refill my medications?
We do not refill any medications that we do not precribe to you. If we find a good solution for you, we will ask that your Primary Care Provider take over after 3months.
We do not start, refill, or wean opioid medications and other controlled substances.
For medications that have withdrawal effects from sudden discontinuation (which will be indicated to you at the time of prescription), please discuss this with your pharmacist for urgent spot refills.
What if I have more than one area of pain?
We offer focused treatment to one area at a time. If your Primary Care Provider has referred you for multiple areas of chronic pain, you will be asked to choose one area to treat per referral. You will be prompted to make this choice during the intake process.
This is designed to avoid diluting physiotherapy resources.
10 sessions of physiotherapy is the maximum we can offer per patient, per year, for now.
What does the intake process look-like?
1) Our Nurses or Nurse Practitioners will reach out over the phone to offer you a virtual interview, or to offer you an appointment time for a virtual interview. This includes information about your pain, your treatments to date, your medications, allergies, lifestyle, past medical history, and past surgical history.
2) After the virtual intake you will be offered a physical examination where one of our physicians will examine the area involved. They may order additional investigations such as X-rays, Ultrasound, CT/MRI/Bone Scans based on clinical findings at the time.
3) After this physical exam your intake is complete, and we expect to enroll you into our treatment process.
What happens after I am enrolled?
We treat patients in cohorts of 40, so we have enough to group together for physiotherapy.
There may be a waiting period before we are able to book you for treatment recommendations. This can be 1-2months long.
Once the process starts, we will follow your case all the way to discharge.
During treatment phase, we may offer treatment options on a weekly basis. You will receive a phone call from our nurse or nurse practitioner about these recommendations. These can range from physiotherapy, injections, medications, to treatment of comorbidities.
You will have the opportunity to consent to the treatment, or not.
In the event you object to the treatment offered, we will take your feedback to the team for discussion. We will then contact you again, usually by the following week, to offer a different treatment suggestion.
How do you decide what order to offer treatments?
We have a methodical approach to treatment plans that balance practicality with clinical importance.
It is not always step-wise as a result.
For example:
1) Week 1 offer an injection to a spinal facet (which can take 6 weeks to get)
2) Week 2 offer enrollment to group physiotherapy (which can take 2 weeks to book).
3) Weeks 4-13 group physiotherapy takes place
4) Week 8 a review of injection takes place for additional advice if relevant (usually needs to take place 2-4 weeks after an injection)
What if I don't like any of the treatments or recommendations you provide?
Please keep an open mind as we roll out our methodical approach. But we cannot ask you to accept any of our suggestions. Treatment and participation is completely at your own volition.
If you have attempted a treatment and it was not effective, we will note it in your file.
If we reasonably exhaust our tools and solutions, we will discharge you back to your Primary Care Provider, indicating that you have completed our program.
If you have declined any number of treatments along the way, we can discharge you back to your Primary Care Provider, with a note indicating that you have not completed our program and you are welcome back in the future to try anythign you haven't done.
You can choose to leave the intake process or the treatment programming at any time you choose. We appreciate your courtesy and your participation.
How do I get into this clinic?
A referral is required from your physician, physiotherapist, or chiropractor.
Are your services covered?
Our services are covered by the Alberta Medical Services Plan.
A valid Alberta Health Care Card is required for access.
Administrative Fees may be relevant when communicating with Law offices.
Do you charge no-show fees?
No-show fees of 100$ will be charged for physical examination appointments during the intake process.
No-show fees may be charged by physiotherapy companies to you directly depending on their own company policy.
Non-payment for no-show fees may result in an inability to access the clinic's services further and/or discharge from the clinic.