Upon receipt of referral, new patients are invited to attend an orientation session at their earliest availability, options include: self-guided virtual, or in-person/by phone to decide if they would like to engage in the program.

Once orientation is complete, patients are directed to complete and submit an Intake & Screening Package within 2 weeks of completing their orientation. This is reviewed by a pain team member within one week of receipt.

• The referring provider will be contacted if additional information or clarification is needed from the referral or intake and screening package completed by the patient.
• If a referral is declined, the Physician and patient are updated. An attempt will be made to provide a verbal update to the physician, upon decline of the referral. If this is not possible, a letter will be sent to communicate the decision to the physician.

If accepted into Pain Services, a patient is booked to see a Nurse Case Manager for their initial assessment, where a patient history is gathered, and a treatment plan is initiated based on the patient’s goals. A physician update letter will be sent to the referring healthcare provider after this appointment, communicating the initiation of a treatment plan and the services that the patient has elected to start working with first.

The patient will engage in education, individual appointments with inter-professional team members, may participate in groups/workshops, and will connect with their Nurse Case Manager at regular intervals for supports, to review and update their goals and treatment plan, and to maintain engagement in the program.

Patients may choose to work with some or all of the team members, and may work with several at once, or one at a time. This creates variability in how long a patient may be engaged in the program.

Although the entry and discharge aspects are linear, there is variability within the program and ways clients work with providers within the Pain Services team. This is because treatment plans are individualized to meet the patient’s unique goals.

Patients are discharged from Pain Services when they have completed their goals/work with all providers involved in the patient’s treatment plan.

Although there may be a minimal waitlist for specific providers within Pain Services, there is no waitlist for patients accessing the program. If a patient is placed on a waitlist for a specific service, other provider services within the program will be coordinated to ensure program participants can begin working with one or more team members on their goals within 1-2 weeks of meeting with their Nurse Case Manager, depending on the client availability.