I have a question I hope someone can answer. I see a pain management dr for a herniated disc. He's got me on percocet prn, and will be doing an esi soon. I have signed no agreement saying that I will get treated by anyone else (and I don't want to go to anyone else) nor has he ever warned me not to get meds from other drs. However, I will be having bariatric surgery in a few months in another state (there are no local drs that do this type of surgery) and I'm sure I will be given pain meds in the hospital. So my question is do I need to tell the pain management dr about the surgery in advance and ask him to co-ordinate with the surgeon? Or will he let the surgeon treat me for the pain of the surgery? I wonder why they never asked me to sign an agreement?
Elizabeth,
The smart thing to do is to always let your PM doctor, contract or not, about any treatment that you may be getting from another surgeon, doctor or dentist, especially if it involves scheduled medication- ie DEA scheduled medication. Since the surgeon is in another state, once you are discharged to home, you most probably would be treated for any pain resulting from the surgery by your PM doctor anyway. Usually my PM has the surgeon treat me during hospitalizations and for the month post op for pain medications related to the surgery and then he takes over.
I have been in pain management for some time and I always make it a practice to let mine know about any problem that comes up that might involve surgery or pain medication so that he is aware and he works with my other care givers to make sure that they are both on the same page regarding medication needs. It protects me and makes my life simpler.
I wasn't trying to "double dip". I just wasn't sure how that worked with the out-of-state doctor co-ordinating with my PM doctor. I will definately tell him so he can contact the surgeon and let him do what he needs to do.
