Pain Management Centre
Health professional information
Clinical service overview
The Caulfield Pain Management and Research Centre is part of the DHHS Health Independence Program.
The service is a multidisciplinary service focused on exploring how to self-manage to live well with the presence of persistent or chronic pain.
The Centre aims to assist patients to reduce the impact of persistent pain by optimising pain treatments, improving function and promoting self-management.
This is achieved through expert assessment, patient education and access to a number of medical, Nursing and Allied Health treatment modalities.
The centre undertakes research on outcomes of pain treatments, psychosocial aspects of chronic pain, pain and ageing and novel therapies for pain.
It also has close links with The Alfred's Acute Pain Service (in Anaesthesia) as well as various specialist services treating chronic pain conditions. Together the services are accredited for training in Pain Medicine by the Faculty of Pain Medicine.
Services Offered
- Specialist Medical assessment including advice and recommendations for ongoing treatment
- Addiction medicine
- Medication reduction advice and support
- Psychiatry
- Multidisciplinary Pain Management programmes
- Occupational therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Allied health assistant
- Clinical psychology
- Nurse
- Feldenkrais practitioner
- Education to referrers and other parties
- Referral for interventions, when indicated
- Medico Legal reports
Pain Management Programs Offered
- Service information and triage consultation – telephone consultation
- Start UP group program focusing on function and movement
- CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Pain Management Group programs
- Modules – Feldenkrais, stress, sleep
- Hydrotherapy
- Individual Allied Health Therapy
Following acceptance of a referral:
Clients will be;
- Sent an Initial Pain questionnaire via email /post that needs to be completed and returned before an appointment can be made.
- Invited to attend the service information and triage consultation, a 20-minute telephone consultation to discuss client expectations and ensure this is the right service at the right time their needs
Some clients may go direct to a medical assessment where there are identified risk and other areas of concern.
After this the assessment process may involve;
- An assessment with our Allied Health multidisciplinary team (this includes OT, Physio and Psychology) is a requirement if continuing on with therapeutic programs.
An assessment report is sent to the client and their GP and or referring Doctor with a summary of key findings and recommendations following the multidisciplinary assessment.
- An Assessment with a Medical Pain Specialist.
Correspondence will be sent to the GP/referrer advising of any recommendations following an assessment and review appointments.
Exclusion criteria
Referral are not appropriate for:
- Patients who are currently not willing to explore living well with pain and not willing to learn to self-manage ongoing pain
- Patients already referred to another pain service for the assessment, or treatment of, the identifiable cause of pain
- Patients currently undertaking another chronic pain management program
- Patients with mild or tension headaches or untreated typical migraine
- Patients who have already completed a multidisciplinary, comprehensive chronic pain management program or service for the same identifiable cause of pain where their clinical symptoms, or their readiness to undertake a chronic pain management program, remains unchanged
- Patients who only want an intervention such as an injection or dry needling
The following conditions are not routinely seen at Alfred Health:
- Patients who are being treated for the same condition at another Victorian public hospital
- Children under 18 years of age
We do not encourage referrals for only medication / prescription renewals.
Refer your patient
Make a referral
Referrals are appropriate for clients who have;
- Persistent or chronic pain (> 3 months duration) with symptoms that impact on daily activities including impact on work, study, school or carer role
- Adequate trial of treatment in previous 12 months (exercise and analgesia)
- At risk of functional or psychological deterioration, or medication dependence
- Willing to explore living well with pain and is willing to learn to self-manage ongoing pain.
And meet one of the following criteria;
- Pain requires complex medication management
- Persistent or chronic neuropathic pain
- Persistent or chronic pain in cancer survivors
- Persistent or chronic post-surgical or post-traumatic pain
- Persistent or chronic primary pain
- Persistent or chronic secondary headache or orofacial
- Persistent or chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain
- Persistent or chronic visceral pain
- New persistent or chronic pain related to a COVID-19 infection
For further details on referral guidelines for Chronic Pain Services please refer to the Department of Health (DHS) Statewide Referral Criteria for Specialist Clinics.
(03) 9076 6776
(03) 9076 6773
Special referral instructions
A medical referral is required from a general practitioner or specialist.
The centre services the state of Victoria for public, TAC, WorkCover and Veterans Affairs clients.
Referrals are prioritised according to the following criteria:
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome < 3 months duration
- Repeated ED presentations
- At risk of job loss
- Recent shingles leading to severe post herpatic neuralgia
- Any other condition highlighted as urgent by the treating doctor
Information that must be included in the referral:
- Referrals that do not have adequate information will be returned with a request for more information
Demographic details required:
- Date of birth
- Patient’s contact details including mobile phone number
- Referring GP details
- If an interpreter is required
- Medicare number
- The referral should note if the patient is eligible for compensable services (e.g. through the Transport Accident Commission of WorkSafe)
Clinical information required:
- Reason for referral
- Duration of symptoms
- Pain history: onset, location, nature of pain and duration
- Comprehensive past medical history
- Current and complete medication history (including non-prescription medicines, herbs and supplements)
- Relevant pathology and imaging reports (Alfred or Sandringham Radiology preferred to facilitate access to results)
- Psychological status and cognitive function
- Details of previous pain management including the course of treatment(s) and outcome of treatment(s)
- History of alcohol, recreational or injectable drugs, or prescription medicine misuse
- Details of any current behaviours that may impact on the person’s ability to participate in a chronic pain management program (e.g. behaviours of concern, level of alcohol intake, cognition issues, reliance on a carer, mental health issues)
Provide the following information if available:
- Details of functional impairment
- Psychiatric history
- If the person has symptoms of, or have been diagnosed with, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Results of previous investigations
- If the person has previously completed a chronic pain management program and if so the provider of the program
- If the person is part of a vulnerable group
Clinic times
| Day | Campus | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Caulfield Hospital | 8.30am - 5.00pm |
| Wednesday | Caulfield Hospital | 8.30am - 5.00pm |
| Thursday | Caulfield Hospital | 8.30am - 5.00pm |
| Friday | Caulfield Hospital | 8.30am - 5.00pm |
Clinic consultants
- A/Prof Carolyn Arnold: Pain Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine
- Dr Sarah Donovan: Pain Medicine
- Dr Jason Teh: Rehabilitation Medicine, Pain Medicine
- Dr Phoebe Gao: Psychiatry
- Dr Matthew Frei: Addiction Medicine
MBS-billed service
On the doctor’s behalf, Alfred Health can bulk bill the cost of the consultation for some services through Medicare. This means there is no out of pocket expense to the patient.
MBS-billed services require a current referral. Provide your patient with a 12 month referral to see the specialist of your choice at the requested clinic.
Referrals must be addressed to a named specialist or the Head of service, listed at the top of this page. Clinic consultants are listed on every clinic page.
Note that from time to time, your patient may be seen by another specialist in the clinic, in order to expedite their treatment.
Resources
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