FAQ - General
Q: Do you perform injections only or do you prescribe medications also?
A: Cahaba Pain & Spine Care is a comprehensive interventional pain management practice. We formulate individualized plans to control your pain. These plans may involve medications, procedures, physical therapy, referrals to other physicians or surgeons, further testing, further workup, counseling or referrals for psychiatric treatment, among other options.
Q: Do I need a referral to come and see you?
A: Many new patients do not require a referral. However, this depends on your insurance. If you call our office, we will work with your physicians and insurance to get you scheduled as soon as possible.
Q: Do I have to be seen in clinic before I can have a procedure done?
A: No, your physician can refer you to us for an injection only. However, many injections or procedures require advanced imaging, such as MRI, CT Scans, X-rays, or other testing. Your doctor may order these and send them to our office. If there are any questions regarding the appropriateness of an injection procedure, we may see you in clinic first for a thorough evaluation before the procedure. Regardless, you will receive a thorough preoperative evaluation, review of records, and review of imaging prior to any procedure performed at our office.
Q: I know you guys are pain doctors, does that mean I need to see a spine specialist about my back?
A: As Board Certified Pain physicians we are specialized and trained to diagnose and treat spine conditions. That includes being able to recognize when the patient may need to see another provider such as a physical therapist or a spine surgeon.
Q: Will you keep my primary care doctor and other physicians informed about my treatment?
A: Absolutely, we make it a priority to send our notes to all of your physicians.
Q: What if I have to cancel my appointment?
A: As long as you cancel your appointment at least 24 hours before your appointment, there is no fee. There is a fee if you cancel last minute or no show with no notice.
Q: Do you treat motor vehicle accident victims?
A: Yes we do. However, we typically do not hold liens for pending litigation cases and expect payment at the time of service. Please let us know if your visit is related to a motor vehicle or other accident so we may bill the appropriate insurance for your visit.
Q: Do you treat worker’s compensation patients?
A: Yes we accept worker’s compensation insurance and are accustomed to treating worker’s compensation patients. Please let us know your visit is related to a worker’s compensation claim when you schedule your appointment. We can help facilitate your referral by working with your case manager, referring physician and physician of record.
Q: Do you fill out disability paperwork?
A: We typically do not fill out disability paperwork. We are not formally trained in functional or disability assessments. If a patient requests this service we will provide them with occupational health specialist, Physical therapist and other Specialist referrals who perform this service. After a functional capacity exam, or independent medical exam, or occupational medicine exam has been performed, we may comment on disability. However, formal testing such as the FCE, IME, or occupational medicine eval is required before we can comment on disability. If another physician has filled out this paperwork for you in the past, it may be best to have them repeat it. If we fill out this paperwork for you after a formal disability evaluation, there may be a fee required.